4    ^"^ 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


m 


FifiieiJi  Edition. 
PARIS,  LONDON,  AND  NEW  YORK. 

REPRESEXTING   ALL  THE   DISEASES   OP 

THE  GENITAL  ORGANS  OF  THE  MALE  AND  FEMALE, 

THE 

MOST  COMPLETE  AND  PRACTICAL  WORK  ON  THE  PE[TSIO LOGICAL 

MYSTERIES  AND  REVELATIONS  OP  THE  MALE  AND  FEMALE 

SYSTEMS,    WITH   THE   LATEST   EXPERIMENTS   AND 

DISCOVERIES  IN  REPRODUCTION. 

IT    nXUSnUTES    ANAXOSnCAIXY    AM)    FCXLY   "WITH    THE    PLATES,    KVKKXTH1N3 
PERTAI>T\G   TO  THB 

MALE    &.    FEMALE    GENITAL    SYSTEMS} 

WITH  A  FULL  DESCRIPTION   OP 

THE   CAUSES,   SYMPTOMS   AND  MOST   CERTAIN    MODE   OP    CURBg 

OF  ALL  THE   INFIRMITIES   AND   DISEASES   TO  WHICH  THEY 

ARE   LIABLE    FROM    THE   SECRET    HABITS   OP   YOUTH, 

AND   EXCESSES   OF  MATURE   AGE, 

AS 

INNOCENT   OR  UNFORESEEN   AFFECTIONS,  AND   THOSE   RE- 
SULTING FROM  CONTRACTION,  AS  SYPHILIS,  (PRIMARY 
AND    CONSTITUTIONAL,)    GONORRHCEA,   OR    BLEN- 
NORHAGIA,     (clap,)     GLEET,     STRICTURES, 
ETC.   ETC. 
WITH 
KUMEROUS   CERTIFICATES  OP  THE   MOST   U2STARALLELED  CUREa 
EVER    PERFORMED. 

WITH   NEARLY   ONE   HUNDRED  ELECTROTYPED   ENGRAVINOS. 
By  M.  liARMOXT,  Physician  auid  Surgeon, 

JfEW  YORK,    (FORiTERLY  FROII  PARIS  A>'D  LOM)ON.) 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOR,  &  DR.  E.  BANIS''^^. 


1861. 


i^ 


SPECIAL   CARD— DON'T   FAIL   TO   READ    IT. 

M.  RicxjRn,  of  Pam,  Actox,  of  London^  and  the  Author,  in  New  York, 
have  fur  many  years  treated  annually  a  larger  number  of  patients  for 
Genito- urinary  diseases,  than  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  otlier  surgeons. 
The  same  treatment  has  been  pursued  by  all  ;  and  the  frequent  recom- 
mendation of  patients  by  each  to  the  other,  is  the  best  guarantee  of  the 
public  confidence  in  our  mode  of  treatment.  The  Author  is  happy  to 
state  that  this  treatment  is  now  pursued  in  all  the  best  European  venereal 
hospitals. 

Professional  Notice. 

The  Author  and  his  associate,  Dr.  R  Banister,  devote  their  time  to  the 
cure  of  all  the  diseases  referred  to  in  this  work,  at  G47  Broadway  (up 
Btairs),  three  blocks  above  the  St.  Nicholas  Hotel,  N.  Y.  City.  We  have 
a  nuMber  of  offices  specially  appropriated,  so  that  patients  never  meet 
each  other.  For  oiir  hours  of  attendance  at  the  offices,  see  the  New  York 
daily  newspapers.  Persons  in  need  of  medical  aid,  can  apply  to  us  with 
the  most  undoubted  assurance  of  a  cure,  in  the  most  speedy  and  convenient 
manner,  with  perfect  privacy. 

The  afflicted,  therefore,  who  do  not  wish  to  submit  to  the  dangerous  and 
injurious  treatment  of  mercury,  copaiba,  injections,  cauterization,  quack 
specifics,  antidotes,  etc,  will  read  this  book  or  apply  to  us  for  a  speedy 
and  radical  cure. 

Patients  at  a  distance,  can  be  cured  as  secretly  and  as  perfectly  through 
the  mail,  and  express,  as  by  a  personal  visit — unless  surgical  operations  are 
required — by  giving  a  full  statement  of  all  their  symptoms,  appearance  of 
the  disease,  and  length  of  time  they  have  suffered. 

N.  B. — Our  time  is  so  fully  occupied  for  those  who  sen<l  or  pay  the  usual 
fee  upon  application,  that  we  cannot  respond  or  notice  those  who  do  not 
))ay  or  remit,  by  letter  or  otherwise,  the  usual  consultation  fee  of  five 
dollars  at  the  time  of  seeking  our  advice. 


Particular  Notice. 
In  consequence  of  recent  complaints  of  patients  who  have  lost  money 
letters,  and  other  letters  not  having  been  answered  by  us,  I  found,  on 
inquiry,  that  there  is  an  itinerant  Doctirr  traveling  about  the  country,  and 
in  this  city,  by  the  name  of  LARmoNT — therefore  I  wish  all  Icttci'S  lu  ba 
directed  to  my  Associate  (who  has  been  with  me  for  several  years),  Dr.  K. 
Banistkr,  Box  Si-l,  Post  Office,  New  York  City,  as  formerly. 

M.  liARMONT,  Pliysician  and  Siii-geou. 

N.  B. ^Patients  are  respectfully  informed  that  our  offices  have  been 

removed  from  82  fiercer  Street,  corner  of  Spring,  to  647  Broadway,  up 
sfeiirs  (I^i  Fargo  House  block) ,  one  block  above  the  Metropolitan,  and 
three  blocks  above  the  St.  Nicholas  Hotels. 


Kiiiered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tlie  year  1850,  by  M.  Lahmo.vt 
and  K.  Ba-MS-i-ek ,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Qiurt  of  the  United 
Slnles,  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


iviS5l467 


FRONTISPIECE. 

A  Fr»)ni  View  of  the  contents  of  the  Abilomen  and  Pelviflt 
Rnd  of  the  Organs  of  Generation  in  the  Male. 

A,  A,  The  kidneys. 

B,  B,  The  renal  capsules. 

C,  C,  C,  C,  The  renal  arteries  and  veins. 

D,  The  great  artery,  or  aorta. 

E,  The  vena  cava. 

F,  The  spermatic  artery. 

G,  G,  The  spermatic  vein& 
H,  H,  The  ureters. 

I,  I,  Xhe  spermatic  cord*. 

K,  The  rectum. 

L,  The  bladder. 

M,  The  penis. 

N,  The  glans  penis. 

0,  The  meatus. 

P,  The  testicle. 

Q,  The  vas  defereni 

R,  The  scrotum. 


preface  lo  tbc  ZiSih  (gbltioiT. 

The  rapid  sale  of  the  previous  editions  of  the  Medical  Ad- 
viser AND  Maruiagb  Guide,  has  induced  the  Author  to 
revise  and  enlarge  the  worlv,  to  render  it  still  more  attrac- 
tive and  useful  to  an  intelligent  and  appreciative  public. 

In  the  department  of  illustrations,  many  new  and  beauti- 
ful additions  have  been  made,  and  the  entire  rearrangement 
of  the  plates  and  figures  to  give  the  most  convenient  and 
comprehensive  study  of  them  by  the  reader.  A  larger  num- 
ber of  pages  have  been  added  than  a  superficial  inspection 
would  seem  to  indicate,  from  the  fact  that  vacant  pages, 
and  parts  of  pages,  have  been  filled  with  interesting  cases 
and  other  important  information. 

It  is  not  generally  known,  that  irritation  or  chronic  in- 
flammation of  the  mucous  surfaces  of  the  bladder  and  kidneys, 
give  rise  to  severe,  painful,  and  often  dangerous  and  even 
fatal  diseases. 

Enlargement  and  inflammation  of  the  prostate  gland,  also, 
when  neglected,  result  in  protracted  and  distressing  affec- 
tions of  the  genito-urinary  apparatus. 

These  affections  of  the  kidneys,  bladder,  and  prostate 
gland,  give  rise  to  many  of  the  alarming  symptoms  of 
stone  in  the  bladder  (Gravel),  but  unlike  that  melancholy 
condition,  are  not  only  perfectly,  but  speedily  curable  by 
us. 

During  the^past  few  years,  the  large  increase  in  the  appli- 
cations for  treatment  to  us  of  such  patients,  has  enabled  us 
to  profit  by  extensive  observation,  as  is  proved  by  the  large 
number  of  such  patients  discharged  cured  annually. 

We  wish,  in  this  brief  space,  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
afflicted  to  the  condition  of  their  urine.  Healthy  urine  is  a 
clear,  pale  amber  colored  fluid.  If,  on  collecting  the  first 
urine  voided  in  the  morning  in  a  clean  bottle,  there  is  a 
sediment  of  white  or  of  a  pinkish  color,  or  a  cloudy  appear- 
ance, on  settling  and  becoming  cool,  it  is  an  evidence  of  a 
diseased  condition  of  the  genito-urinary  system,  of  a  more  or 
less  grave  character,  and  should  excite  prompt  attention  to 
the  matter  by  the  patient. 

In  the  true  diagnosis  of  these  diseases,  we  are  greatly  in- 
debted to  the  microscopic  and  chemical  analysis,  without 
which  aid  it  is  often  impossible  to  form  an  accurate  judg- 
ment. 


PREFACE 


In  giving  the  following  pages  to  the  Public,  the  great 
aim  and  object  of  the  Author  has  been  to  give  a  plain, 
practical  treatise,  adapted  to  all  circles  of  society. 

All  theories,  not  vrell  sustained  by  facts  and  experi- 
ence, have  been  discarded. 

The  most  absurd,  ridiculous,  and  mischievous  specu- 
lations and  erroneous  assumptions  have  been  published, 
largely  copied  and  transformed  (or  rather  deformed) 
from  musty  antediluvian  medical  books.  It  would  be 
better  for  the  public  to  experience  a  second  deluge, 
that  would  sweep  away  all  such  trash.  It  is  infinitely 
more  difllcult  to  forget  or  discard  false  impressions  or 
erroneous  views,  than  to  learn  those  facts  which  are 
correct  and  of  real  instriiction. 

I  am  led  to  make  these  remarks  from  hearing  from 
all  classes,  more  or  less  frequently,  expressions  of  wrong 
views  on  medical  subjects;  this  must  be  attributed  to 
the  pernicious  teachings  of  foolish  books  and  senseless 
lectures. 

It  shall  be  then,  the  especial  object  of  this  work  to 


riU  PREFACE. 

correct  such  errors,  and  in  so  doing  our  readers  will 
readily  sec  the  more  plausible  and  reasonable  teachings 
herein  incorporated. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  edition  great  care  and  paina 
has  been  taken  to  describe  the  more  common  derange- 
ments of  the  Male  Female  and  Generative  Systems, 
their  anatomy,  physiology,  and  pathological  tendencies 
to  disease ;  and  those  diseases  consequent  upon  sexual 
indulgences. 

Of  Masturbation  (Self- Abuse),  Emissions,  Impotency, 
etc.,  etc.,  the  second  part  of  the  present  edition  of  tliia 
work  will  fully  treat. 

Menstruation,  and  the  derangements  of  the  uterine 
functions  have  received  as  ample  attention  as  the  char- 
acter of  the  work  will  permit.  We  have  conclusively 
disproved  the  falacies  and  whims  which  books  upon 
kindred  subjects  have  inculcated :  for  instance,  those 
directions  to  prevent  conception,  which  are  popularly 
believed,  are  not  only  mischievous  and  delusive,  but  a 
case  came  under  our  notice  lately,  in  which  the  conse- 
quences were  nearly  fatal :  This  was  in  a  married  lady 
with  a  deformed  pelvis,  which  precluded  the  possibility 
of  giving  birth  to  living  offspring;  yet,  deeming  her- 
self safe,  she  followed  the  directions  of  a  widely  dissem- 
inated volume,  to  prevent  the  mishap,  but  it  had  the 
opposite  effect,  the  accouchmSnt  being  effected  by 
mutilating  the  child,  and  almost  immolating  the 
mother.  The  motive,  no  doubt,  was  to  gratify  the 
desire  that  famihes  have  to  control  the  number  of  their 
offspring. 

We  have  given  our  experience,  and  advice  founded 
upon  that  experience,  upon  the  subject  of  Conception, 


jtMvi  tJbtO  mirest  means  of  aceomplisHng  no  of  Hirauit*  an 
object  to  thousands  of  heirless  parents. 

Sterility,  so  commonly  caused  by  slight  fiiacr,i.onal 
derangements  in  females,  is  as  readily  under  ihe  control 
of  tbe  competent  surgeon  as  any  other  fun»^tional  de- 
rangements of  other  organs,  viz.,  indigestion ,  torpidity 
of  the  liver,  bowels,  or  kidneys,  yet  from  want  of  aralo- 
gous  reasoning  upon  causes  and  effects  of  uterine  affec- 
fcions,  medical  men  often  get  befogged,  anvl  jump  at 
false  and  injurious  conclusions. 

Upon  the  subjects  of  Medicines,  InstrumentE.  cr  In- 
structions to  produce  Abortion,  I  cannot  too  severely 
oensure,  deprecate  and  denounce  all  persons  engagsd 
in  so  abominable  and  damnable  a  traffic.  Its  tenden- 
cies are  to  sap  the  foundations  of  all  moral  and  religious 
society — to  ruin  the  health  of  females  therein  engaged 
— to  foster  crime — to  cloak  the  iniquities  of  the  wicked 
— to  shield  the  villainous  seducer  of  the  innocent  and 
virtuous,  from  just  odium  and  public  retribution,  of  the 
foulest  crimes,  manslaughter,  and  even  murder ! 

It  is  truly  lamentable  that  pious,  virtuous,  honest, 
honorable  families  are  destitute  of  the  appreciation  of 
the  real  magnitude  of  this  monster  evil,  that  the  disin- 
clination to  have  children,  induces  them  to  apply  to 
their  own  family  physician  to  prevail  on  him  to  procure 
abortion. 

Having  as  many  as  fifty  patients  constantly  under 
my  charge,  affected  Avith  Venereal  and  other  infectious 
diseases,  the  majority  of  which  having  been  under 
treatment  with  other  physicians,  I  have  devoted  a 
sufficient  space  in  this  work,  to  guide  those  who  are 
unfortunate  enough  to  be  afflicted  with  such  horrible 


X  PREFACE. 

diseases,  to  a  rapid  and  permanent  cure.  The  ignor- 
ance in  the  medical  profession,  of  the  proper  treatment, 
the  awful  consequences  resulting  from  the  treatment 
of  Quacks,  and  the  various  liumbug  cure-all  medicines 
so  largely  advertised,  are  truly  beyond  the  comprehen- 
sion of  those  who  have  not  the  opportunities  of  knowing 
its  vast  extent.  As  this  work  will  save  thousands  from 
such  a  condition,  I  cannot  but  feel  that  I  hav«  fulfilled 
my  duties  towards  my  fellow-beings.  My  practice  is 
constantly  revealing  to  me  the  great  extent  of  constitu- 
tional disease,  arising  from  neglect  or  maltreatment  of 
Syphilis.  Any  physician  who  will  investigate  this  sub- 
ject, will  be  astonished  at  the  mass  of  human  suffering 
which  he  can  trace  to  a  Venereal  origin,  although  its 
primary  symptoms  may  have  been  apparently  eradi- 
cated from  the  system  for  many  years.  Some  are  in- 
discreet enough  to  allow  delicacy  or  shame  to  prevent 
them  from  applying  to  the  proper  physician  until  the 
poison  has  acquired  sucli  virulence  as  to  justly  alarm 
them ;  they  then  frequently  apply  to  some  unskillful 
practitioner,  wIk)  may  temporarily  arrest  the  external 
symptoms  and  discharge  them  cured;  matters  will  thus 
go  on  until  the  malady  becomes  constitutional,  when 
the  patients  are  at  last  compelled  to  place  themselves 
under  the  treatment  of  those  who,  at  an  earlier  period, 
could  have  preserved  their  systems  untainted,  and  their 
bodies  uninjured  by  the  ravages  of  this  most  insidious 
of  diseases. 

As  it  is  actually  necessary,  for  a  thorough  under- 
standing of  the  subject  herein  treated,  I  have  given,  as 
briefly  as  possible,  a  description  of  the  organs  of  genera- 
tion, and  of  their  physiology,  that  any  one  may  clearly 


PREFACE.  XI 

understand  their  importance ;  furthermore,  I  have  stated 
the  caitses,  varieties,  symptoms,  peculiarities,  and  most 
certain  mode  of  euro. 

Every  person  before  entering  the  Marriage  State, 
should  ask  themselvos  if  they  are  in  such  a  state  of 
health  that  the  Marriage-hed,  will  not  become  a  bed  Ot 
loathsome  disease.  I  always  have  some  such  patients 
in  process  of  cure,  and  whose  offspring  seldom  live,  but 
if  they  do.  are  the  most  pitiable  evidences  of  their 
parents'  condition.  How  degraded  and  lost  to  all  the 
finer  feelings,  which  alone  can  ennoble  us,  must  be  that 
person  who  will  allow,  even  the  remotest  doubt  to 
remain  unmoved,  that  they  are  tainted  by  disease,  or  so 
debilitated  by  early  or  guilty  excesses^  that  their  pro- 
geny will  be  doomed,  but  yet  dares  to  offer  such  a  pol- 
luted and  shattered  frame  at  the  pure  shrine  of  love. 
Such  are  often  the  causes  of  domestic  unhappiness,  and 
the  horrible  diseases  which  we  see  children  affected 
with,  from  generation  to  generation.  Ponder  well, 
then,  you  who  have  ever  been  afflicted  with  a  disease 
which  is  sure  to  become  constitutional,  if  not  totally 
eradicated  at  the  time  of  infection.  Think  what  your 
neglect  will  painfully  recall  in  your  own  family.  That 
not  a  single  individual  need  suffer,  or  have  any  excuse 
?or  their  situation,  I  offer  them,  The  IMedical  Adviser 
iND  Marriage  Guide,  at  a  merely  nominal  price-  -  ( )n« 
dollar. 


gc.5criptioit  of  ibc  '^^liites. 


PLde  1 — Figure  1. — A  Front  View  of  the  Contents  op 
THE  Abdomen  and  Pelvis,  and  of  the  Organs  op 
Generation  in  the  Male. — (See  minute  description 
opposite  the  Plate.) 

Plate  2 — Figure  2. — A  full  and  accurate  View  of  tuk 
Left  Section  of  the  Female  Pelyls,  in  Health. — 
(See  full  description  opposite  the  Plate.) 

Plate  3 — Figure  3. — xVnatomt  and  Front  View  of  the 
Bladder,  Penis,  etc. 

A,  The  Bladder.— B,  The  Neck  of  the  Bladder.— CC,  The  Ureters.— DD, 
The  Vasa-Deferentia. — EE,  Seminal  Vesicles. — F,  Prostate  Gland. — G, 
Urethra. — ^H,  Erector  Muscles  of  the  Penis. — II,  Cavernous  Bodies  of  the 
Penis. — KK,  Arteries  of  the  Penis. — L,  Great  Vein  of  Penis. — MM,  Nerves 
of  the  Penis.— N,  Orifice  of  the  Urethra.— 0,  The  Glans-Penis.— P  The 
Piepuce,^ or  Foreskin. 

Plate  4 — Figure  4.— Anatomy  of  the  Bladder,  Prostate 
Gland,  Appendages,  etc. 

A,  The  Bladder.— B,  Neck  of  the  Bladder.— CC,  Ureters.— DD,  Vasa- 
Deferentia. 

Plate  4 — Figure  5. — A  Sectional  View  of  the  Seminal 
Vessels  and  Prostate  Gland. 

DD,  Vasa-Deferentia.— EE,  Seminal  Vesicles.— FF,  Prostate  Gland.— 
G,  Urethra. 

Plate  5 — Figure  6.— Penis,  Prostate  Gland,  and  Bladder 
Laid  Open. 

Letter  A,  Showing  the  Jlouths  of  the  Seminal  Ducts  opening  into  the 
Urethra. — Letter  B,  Inflamed  Points  of  the  Mucous  Surface  from  Gonor- 
rhoea.— Letter  C,  Chancre. 


DESCRIITIOX    OF    PLATES.  Xlll 

Plate  ij— Figure  7. — Represents  the  Vagina  iaed  open  by 
A  Longitudinal  Section,  with  the  Womb  and  iTd 
Appendages  in  their  relative  position. 

Plate  6 — Figure  8. — Diagram  op  a  Section  of  the  Unim- 

PREGNATED     GRAAFIAN      VeSICLE     AND      ITS      CONTENTS, 
SHOWING   THE   SITUATION   OF   OvUM. 

Plate  G — Figure  9. — Indusium  of  the  Ovary,  derr^ed  vrom 

THE  Peritoneum. 
Plate  6 — Figure  10. — The  Unimpregnated  Ovum  surrounded 

BY   ITS    PrOLIGEROUS    DiSK,   MAGNIFIED    ABOUT    FitTEEN 

Diameters. 
Plate  6 — Figure  11. — A  Section  op  an  Unimpregnated  Ovum, 
representing   the  thick   external   Envelopes,  con- 
nected    WITH     THE     SURFACE     OF     THE      LATTER. — ThE 

Germinal  Vesicle. 
Plate  6 — Figure  12. — Represents  within  a   squ.are  area, 
.    THE  Unimpregnated  Human  Germinal  Vesicle,  mag- 
nified Forty-five  Diameters. 

Plaie  6 — Figure  13. — Is  a  Corpus   Luteum,  taken  from  a 

Female  who  destroyed  herself  by  drowning,  eight 

days  aiter  impregnation. 
Plate   6 — Figure   14. — Represents    the    Intterior    of    the 

Womb,  with  the  Germ  in  progress  of  Formation. 
riaie  7 — Figure  15. — An  Ovuii  about   eight   weeks  old, 

showing  the  Placenta  when  first  formed. 
Plate  7 — Figure  16. — An    Ovum     five      months    of    age, 

WITHIN  THE  Womb. — (See  full  description  opposite  the 

Plate.) 
Plate  8 — Figure  17. — Displays     a   Longitudinal    Section 

OF  THE  Uterus. 

1,  Base  of  the  Womb.— 2,  Mouth  of  the  "Womb  —3  3,  FaUcpIan  Tubes 
—4,  CaTity  of  the  Womb. 


XIV  DESCIUPTION    OF    PLATES. 

PliUe  8— Figure  18. — Anatomy   of  tue  Femvlk    Pkuinium 

1,  2-6,  Sphincter  of  the  Vagina. — 3,  i,  Erector  Muscle  of  the  Clitoris. — 
5-11,  Transverse  Muscle  of  the  Perinium. — 7,  Elevator  Muscle  of  the 
Anus. — 8,  Gluteus  Muscle. — 9,  Sphincter  of  the  Anus. — 10,  Junction  of 
the  Sphincter  of  the  Anus,  and  the  Sphincter  of  the  Vagina — .12,  Adductor 
Muscle. — 13,  The  Gracilis  Muscle. 

Plate  9 — Figure  19. — Represents  the  Foetus  at  MATUurrr, 

A.S    SEEN    FOLDED    UP    AND    IN   ITS   NATURAL  POSITION,    IN 

THE  Womb. 
riale  10 — Figure  20. — Inflammatory  stage  of  Gonorrhcea 

CAUSING   PUYMOSIS. 

riaie  1^— Figure  21. — GoNOium(EA  with  Chordee. 
"  "       22. — GoNORRUCE.vL  Oputhalmia. 

"  "         23. — GONORRIIOJAL   DlSClI.\RGE   MAGNIFIED. 

Plate  11 — Figure  24. — External  Genital  Organs  of  tiih 
Female,  representing  Primary  Syphilis  and  Gonor- 
rucea  at  the  same  time. 

Plate  12 — Figure  25. — Strictures  in  the  Urethra. 

"     13 —     "      26. — Stricture    in    the    Urethra,    an^. 
Enlarge.ment  of  the  Prostate  Gland. 

Plate  li— Figure  27. — Swelled  Testicle  from  Urethri- 
tis. 

Plaie  14 — Figure  28. — Hydrocele,  or  Dropsy  of  the 
Testicle. 

A,  Penis  drawn  almost  into  the  Body. — B,  Scrotum  distended  to  its 
utmost  extent  by  the  Water.— C,  The  Testicle.— D,  The  Vas-Deferens. 

Plate    14 — Figure    29.^Excrescences — Vegetations,    ok 

Warts  on  the  Penis. 
Plate  15 — Figure  30. — Phymosis. 

"  "      31. — Deep-seated  Syphilitic  Ulcers  on 

'iTiE  Scrotum. 
Plate    \5— Figure    32. — Clap,    Chancres    (Syphilis),    axe 

Para-Phymosis  in  same  patient. 


DESCKIITIOX    OF    i'LATKS.  XV 

Plale  15 — Fiffure  33. — Ouan-cuks  (Fox)  causing  Phtmosis. 
Plale   IG — Figure  34. — Simplk    Chancre    (Pox)   six  hours 

AFTEK  Inoculation. 
Plate  IG— Figure  35. — SiMPiJi:  Chancre  (Pox)  tuirtt  hours 

AFTER  Inoculation. 
Plate  16 — Figure  36. — Simple    Chancre   (Pox)    two  day^ 

AND  six  hours  AFTER  INOCULATION. 

Plate  16 — Figure  37. — Simple  Chancre  (Pox)   three  days 

AND  SIX  HOURS  AFTER  INOCULATION. 

Plate  IQ— Figure  38. — Simple   Chancre    (Pox)    four  days 

AND   six  hours   AFTER  INOCULATION. 

Plate  16 — Figure  39. — Simple   Chancre    (Pox)   five   days 

AND   SIX   HOURS   AFTER  INOCULATION. 

Plate  16 — Figure  40. — Simple  Chancre  (Pox)  six  days  and 

SIX  HOURS  AFTER  INOCULATION. 

Plate  16 — Figure  41. — Simple  Chancre  (Pox)  ten  days  and 

SIX  hours  after  Inoculation. 
Plate  17 — Figure  42. — Chancres  (Pox)  in  the  Urethra  and 

Bladder. 
Plate  17 — Figure  43. — Syphilitic   Ulcers   on  the  Tongue 

AND   IN   the    throat. 

Plate  17 — Figure  44. — SYPnmiTic  Discharge  MAGN^FIED 
'•'     18—    "       45. — Destruction  of  the  Eye  by  Syphilis. 
"     18 —    '•       46. — Constitutional  Syphilitical  affec- 
tion op  the  Eye. 

Plate  18— Figure  47. — Syphilitic    Hydro-Carcocele. 
"     19 —    "       48. — Syphilitic  Pustules  previous  to  the 

NOSE   being    destroyed. 

Plate  19 — Figure  49. — Nodes  on  the  Forehead. 
"     19 —    "      50. — Destruction  of  the  Nose  by  Syph 

ILIS. 


XVI  DESCliirriOX   of   pi.ates. 

Plate  19 — Fujure  51.— Caiues  in'  the  Tektu  from  STPnn.13. 

"       20—      "         52. — SPEKMA-TOIlKUOiAL  Ol'UTlIALMIA  IN  CON 
SEQUENCE  OF   MASTURBATION. 

riaie  20— Fi^jure  53.— Horriule   appearance  of  tue  Fea- 
tures CAUSED  BY  Self-Abuse. 
Flaie  21— Figure  54. — Varicocele  produced  by  Self-Polu- 

TION   AND   INVOLUNTARY  LOSS   OF  Se.MEN. 

Plate  21 — Figure  55. — Total  relaxation  of  both  Testi- 
cles FROM  Onanism  and  Seminal  Debility. 

Plate  22 — Figure  5G. — Microscopial  View  of  Semen  and 
Spermatozoa. 

Plate  22— Figure  57.— The  structure  of  the  Testicle  in 
jected  with  Mercury,  and  its  several  parts  un- 
raveled. 

1,22,  Tubuli  Scminiferi. — 3,  Vasa-Recta,  forming  the  Eete-Testis. — 4, 
Corpus-Highmorianum. — 5,  Vasa-Efferentia,  forming  the  Coni-Vasculosi. — 
6,  A  single  tube  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Vasa-Efferentia.  This  tube 
then  becomes  convoluted  upon  itself  to  form  the  Epididymis. — 7,8,  Be- 
ginning of  the  Vas-Deferens. — 9,  The  Vas-Deferens  becoming  a  straight, 
.selfited  tube  in  its  ascent  to  the  Abdominal  Ring. — 10,  Spermatic  Artery. 
— 11,  Spermatic  Cord,  dissected  and  spread  out. 

Plate  22— Figures  58,  59,  60,  61,  62,  63,  64,  and  65.— Sper- 
matozoa AND  GrANULA  SeMINIS. 

Plate  22.— Figures  66,  67,  and  66.— Reproduction  Cell,  con- 
taining three  Granula  Seminis. 

Plate  23 — Figure  69.— Spermatozoa  from  the  Human  Tes- 
ticle. 

Plate  22 — Figure  70. — Fasciculus  of   Human  Spermatozoa 

MAGNIFIED   ABOUT   A   THOUSAND   TIMES. 

Plate  2'5— Figure  71. — Represents    the    Digestive    Tudk 

PROM  THE  Esophagus  to  the  Anus. 
Plate  24:— Figure  72.— The  Testis  in  health. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    PLATES.  XVll 

Plate  li:— Figure   73.— TiiH    Testis    wasteu    away     from 

Onaxism. 
Plate  24r— Figure  74. — The  Testis  retained  in  tue  Groin, 

CAUSING  ImPOTENCY. 

Plate  2b— Figure  75.— Hereditary    Venereal  Disease  in 

THE  Offspring. 
Plate  2b— Figure  76.— SYPniLiTic  Eruption  after  Suppdra 

ting. 
Plate  25— Figure  77.— Deep-seated    Veneral    Ulcers    in 

THE  Neck, 
Plate  25 — Figure  78. — Caries  in  the  Cueek-Bont:. 
a     26 —    "       79. — Syphilitic  Ulcers  on  the  Leg. 
"     26 —    '•       80.~Sypuilitic  affection  of  tub  Heart. 
"     26 —    "       81. — Sloughing  Chancre   (Pox). 
"     27 —    "       82. — Primary    Ch.\js'Cres     (Syphilis)    on 
Penis. 
Plate  21— Figure  83.— Pustules  (Syphilitic)  on  PEN^s. 
<«     27 —    "       84. — Syphilitic    Gangren-e     (Mortifica- 
tion) of  Penis. 
Plate  27 — Figure  85. — Indurated  Chancres  on  the  Penis, 

CAUSING  Buboes  in  the  Groins. 
Plate   28— Figure    86. — Syphilitic    Phagedance    (Eating) 

Ulcer  on  the  Leg. 
Plate  28— Figure  87. — Primary    Syphilisis  from  Inocula- 
tion. . 
Vlate  28— Figure  88.— Tubercular  Syphilisis  on  the  Body. 


PART    I. 


PARTICULAR  CAUTION. 


Avoid  all  quack  or  advertised  remedies  for  any  disease,  espe- 
cially venereal,  and  all  of  the  instrameuts  advertised  to  cure 
Seminal  Emissions,  as  they  are  injurious  quack  humbugs. 

"Within  the  past  year  or  two,  there  have  arisen  a  number  of 
mushroom  doctors,  pretending  to  be  from  Hospitals  in  the  dif- 
ferent cities  of  Europe,  or  students  of  emineut  men,  such  as 
Ricord,  Acton,  etc.,  etc.,  using  their  medicines,  medicated 
bougies,  rectum  suppositories,  etc.,  etc.,  whose  injured  and 
uncured  patients  we  are  curing  every  week.  Another  caution, 
to  save  yourselves  from  imposition  in  our  own  building,  be 
certain  you  see  our  No.,  0-47  Broadway,  and  the  silver  plates 
on  each  side  of  the  door,  stating  the  "  Physician's  Consulting 
Rooms  are  on  the  second  floor,"  where,  upon  ascending  the 
stairs,  as  directed,  you  will  see  our  names  upon  silver  door 
plates,  on  the  doors  of  the  offices. 


TLATK  ii. 


21 


feplHuatimt  rf  |tote  2- 


A  full  and  accurate  View  of  the  Left  Section  of  th« 
Female  Pelvis,  in  health. 

A,  The  fourth  lumbar  vertebra. 

B,  The  rectum. 

C,  The  left  iliac  fossa. 

D,  The  rectus  abdomiEus  muscle,  arising  from  E,  The 
BVmphysis  pubis. 

F,  The  mons  veneris.     G,  The  clitoris. 

H,  The  left  nympha.     I,  The  labia  externum. 

K,  The  fundus  uteni. 

L,  L,  The  ovaries  brought  upwards. 

M,  The  posterior  surface  of  the  right  broad  ligament. 

N,  The  right  Fallopian  tube  turned  downwards. 

0,  0,  The  fimbriated  extremities  of  the  tubes. 

P,  The  right  round  ligament. 

The  dotted  line  crosses  the  fundus  of  the  bladder 

Q,  The  OS  uteri. 

R,  The  vagina. 

S,  The  point  of  the  coxcyx. 

T,  The  sphincter  ani. 

V,  The  sphincter  of  the  bladder. 

W,  The  urethra— the  dotted  line  crosses  the  perineum. 

X,  The  maetus  urinarius. 


lutriDbuctioit  la  tbc  ami;  (BWxon, 


Ill  no  class  of  diseases  are  tlie  functional  do 
rang'cments  of  the  stomach,  bowels,  kidneys, 
and  bladder,  so  troublesome  and"  annoying  to 
both  patients  and  physicans,  as  in  seminal  afl'ec- 
tons,  and  probably  from  sympathy  extending 
through  the  entire  nervous  system. 

It  is  a  frequent  occurrence,  to  have  calls  for 
relief,  of  frequent  and  painful  micturation,  or 
irritable  bladder,  the  suft'erer  not  having  suspect- 
ed that  aught  else  ailed  him  ;  but  this  is  one  of 
the  commonly  occurring  complications  of  disease 
previously  existing  in  the  genito-urinary  organs, 
either  from  spermatorrhoea,  gleet,  or  stricture, 
having  caused  inflammation  of  the  mucous  mem- 
brane, which  is  so  liable  to  extend  to  adjacent 
parts,  for  it  is  the  same  continuous  tissue  which 
lines  the  whole  system  of  these  emunctory  or- 
gans. 

Exce^es  in  eating  or  drinking,  or  of  excessive 
venery,  in  these  patients,  excites  inflammatory 
action  even  in  these  and  more  distant  organs. 

Such  persons,  are  those  who  often  contract  leu- 
corrhoea  from  their  wives,  and  simply  from  tho 
existing  predisposition  to  inflammation  of  the 
uerthral  mucous  membrane.  AVhen  gonorrhcen 
does  not  promptly  yield  to  treatment,  we  know 
that  there  is  something  in  the  back-ground  that 
^vill  soon  loom  up  in  total  disregard  of  the  laws 
of  perspective  ;  delaying  and  tediously  protract- 
ing the  cure,  unless  two  birds  are  killed  at  on€» 
shot. 


THE 

ANATOMY  OF  THE  GENERATIVE  ORGANS 

OF    THE 

MALE    AND    FEMALE. 


'Not  only  have  the  ancient  and  modern  writers 
admitted  the  importance  of  the  sexual  organs  being 
preserved  in  a  perfect  state  of  health  and  vigor, 
but  every  person  possessed  with  a  mind  capable  of 
a  moment's  reflection  will  see  its  importance  on 
mankind  at  the  present  time,  and  particularly  for 
the  future.  The  proper  performance  of  the  special 
functions  with  which  they  are  charged  has  ever  been 
considered  essentially  necessary  to  the  health  and 
well-being  of  the  economy,  both  physical  and  men- 
tal. They  are  parts  of  admirable  construction, 
form,  and  use  ;  and  constitute  a  strikin"^  evidence 
of  the  wonderful  skill  and  contrivance  in  the  adapta- 
tion of  a  special  mechanism  in  the  system  for  the 
performance  of  one  of  its  most  important  and  essen- 
tial functions : — that  of  the  propagation  of  the 
species.  Unequaled  in  the  delicacy  of  their  texture^ 
and  the  comparative  minuteness  of  their  structure, 
their  peculiar  fitness  for  the  functions  assigned 
them  in  the  economy,  when  they  are  in  a  state  of 
perfect  integrity,  excites  the  astonishment  and  ad' 


24  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

miration  alike  of  the  anatomist  and  the  philosopher. 
Tiieir  very  complexity,  while  it  renders  them  liable 
to  many  disorders,  by  any  of  which  their  utility 
may  be  impaired,  is  wisely  rendered  subservient  to 
the  important  purpose  of  separating  and  purifying 
the  vivifying  fluid. 

Like  that  complex  and  delicate  piece  of  machinery 
— a  watch — constructed  by  human  skill,  the  organs 
of  generation — a  still  more  complex  and  more  deli- 
cate apparatus,  created  by  the  Divhie  will — are 
liable  to  derangement  and  impairment  of  functions 
and  structure  from  many  causes,  the  nature  and 
effects,  of  which  will  be  investigated  in  the  following 
pages.  In  order,  however,  that  these  may  be  fully 
and  clearly  understood,  it  will  be  advisable  to  pre- 
face the  observations  we  propose  hereafter  to  offer 
respecting  them,  by  some  notice  of  the  anatomical 
arrangement  and  physiological  action  of  the  organs 
which  are  immediately  subservient  to  the  function 
of  generation,  and  also  of  those  which  are  only 
indirectly  connected  therewith. 

The  parts  in  man  which  are  immediately  con- 
nected with  the  functions  just  alluded  to,  are  the 
testicles,  by  which  the  semen  or  seed  is  secreted,  and  of 
their  appendages,  through  which  the  seminal  fluid 
is  transmitted  to  the  urethra  at  its  origin  near  the 
neck  of  the  bladder,  and  of  the  penis,  by  means  of 
which  the  act  of  copulation  takes  place,  and 
through  a  canal  in  the  under  part  of  which,  called 
the  urethra,  the  seed  is  conveyed  from  the  receptacles 
in  which  it  is  retained,  to  those  organs,  in  the  female, 
which  are  engaged  in  the  functions  of  generation. 

The  urinary  organs,  both  male  and  female,  may 
be  regarded  as  subsidiary  to  this  function,  and  many 
of  the  diseases  to  which  they  are  liable,  exert  an 


THK    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  i2C> 

influence  on  its  performance,  and  not  nnfrequently 
produce  impotence,  eitlier  tem})orary  or  permanent, 
according  to  the  nature,  (treatment,  if  employed,) 
and  severity  of  the  disease. 

The  Kidneys,  which  are  the  organs  solely 
engaged  in  the  secretion  of  the  urine,  are  glandular 
bodies  of  an  oblong  shape,  seated  on  either  side  of 
the  spine,  upon  and  below  the  two  last  ribs,  and 
behind  the  stomach  and  intestines  ;  the  right  kidney 
is  also  under  the  liver,  when  the  man  is  in  an  erect 
position,  and  the  left  under  the  spleen:  the  right 
kidney  is  generally  the  lower  and  the  larger.  It  is 
said  that  these  organs  are  considerable  in  size  in 
those  persons  whose  passions  are  very  strong,  and 
almost  uncontrollable,  than  they  are  in  those  who 
are  less  addicted  to  sensuality.  In  shape  the  kid- 
ney resembles  the  kidney-bean  ;  its  structure  is 
almost  wholly  made  up  of  arteries  and  veins,  with 
a  few  small  branches  of  nerves,  derived  partly 
from  those  which  are  connected  with  the  ribs,  and 
thence  called  intercostal,  and  partly  form  a  branch 
from  the  stomach,  thus  causing  a  great  sympathy 
between  those  organs.  The  artery  by  which  the 
kidneys  are  supplied  with  blood,  which  is  partly 
used  for  the  support  of  the  organ,  and  partly 
for  the  secretion  of  urine,  is  derived  directly  from 
the  aorta,  or  great  artery  of  the  body.  When  it 
enters  the  kidney,  which  it  does  about  its  middle, 
it  divides  into  branches  which  again  are  divided 
\nto  smaller  ones,  and  these  into  smaller  still,  until 
they  terminate  in  vessels  so  exceedingly  minute  as 
to  be  invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  From  these  the 
veins  are  formed,  and  by  these  the  urine  is  secreted, 
and  falls  by  drops  into  a  pouch  which  is  situated 
aliout  the  middle  or  lower  part  of  the  organ,  and 


26  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

which  forms  the  commencement  of  tlie  ureter.  The 
vein  joins  the  j^reat  cava  vein,  and  discliarges  its 
blood  into  what  is  called  by  anatomists  tlie"  great 
portal  system,  by  which  it  is  conveyed  to  the  hver, 
after  it  has  been  freed  in  the  kidney  from  a  certain 
portion  of  its  sernm,  and  also  from  certain  salts. 
The  nerves  of  the  kidneys  are  few  and  small. 

The  Ureters  are  long  hollow  tubes,  and  consti- 
tute the  continuation  of  the  pelvis  of  the  kidneys. 
There  is  one  on  each  side  of  the  body,  and  they 
pass  downwards,  and  slightly  inwards  to  the  back 
and  lower  part  of  the  bladder,  which  they  pierce, 
running  between  its  coats  for  about  an  inch,  so  that 
if  the  bladder  should  become  exceedingly  distended, 
its  contents  would  not  be  forced  back  into  these 
tubes.  They  are  well  supplied  with  branches  of 
arteries,  veins  and  nerves,  and  their  sensibility,  in  a 
state  ojp  disease,  is  considerable.  Their  use  is  to 
convey  the  urine  from  the  kidney  into  the  bladder. 

The  Bladder  is  situated  in  that  part  of  the 
body  called  the  pelvis.  It  is  of  considerable  size, 
and  admits,  in  some  instances,  of  distension  to  a 
degree  that  would  hardly  be  credited,  were  it  not 
a  well  known  fact.  Such  distension  is  at  the  risk 
of  health  and  life.  This  organ  in  man  lies  directly 
on  the  bowels.  It  is  of  an  oval  shape,  constitutes 
the  great  receptacle  of  the  urine.  The  bladder  is 
well  supplied  with  arteries,  veins  and  nerves.  It 
has  three  coats,  one  of  them  being  composed  of 
muscular  fibres  ;  its  construction  causes  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  urine  ;  it  has  on  that  account  been 
called  the  detrusor  urina. 

The  neck  of  the  bladder — which  in  man  is  longer 
and  narrower,  and  in  woman  is  shorter  and  wider — 
is  surrouDded  ]>y  a  sphincter  muscle,  by  which  tho 


PLATE  3. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  29 

continued  runniuj^  away  of  the  urine  is  prevented, 
unless  from  disease  the  muscle  has  become  useless. 

The  process  by  which  the  secretion  of  the  urine 
is  effected,  is  one  of  exceeding  interest.  The  blood 
from  which  it  is  to  be  separated,  is  conveyed  to 
the  orgau  by  the  venal  artery,  which  divides  into 
branches,  supplying  different  parts  of  the  organ  ; 
and  these  again  in  their  turn  form  arches  of  com- 
municatiou  with  each  other,  whence  spring  minute 
arteries  or  branchlets;  these  again  constituting  a 
complete  net-work  of  vessels  by  a  general  inoscula- 
tion. They  terminate  in  the  commencement  of 
veins,  and  also  in  uriniferous  tubes,  by  which  latter 
the  separation  of  the  urine  is  effected.  The  crypts 
or  crypt(e,  small  round  or  oval  bodies,  which  are 
found  everywliere  in  the.  net-work  of  vessels  just 
spoken  of,  and  which  consist  almost  solely  of  ves- 
sels, are  by  some  supposed  to  be  the  origin  of  the 
uriniferous  tubes.  The  tubes  terminate  in  a  mam- 
millar  process,  which  projects  into  a  small  mem- 
branous bag,  called  from  its  shape  the  infundibu- 
lum  or  funnel;  into  this  bag  the  urine  passes  from 
the  uriniferous  tubes;  it  is  thence  conveyed  to  the 
larger  pouch  called  the  pelvis,  and  afterwards 
through  the  ureter  into  the  bladder.  The  last 
named  pouch,  like  the  pelvis  of  the  kidney,  the 
ureters,  bladder  and  urethra,  is  defended  from  the 
acrimony  o-f  the  urine  by  a  secretion  of  mucus 
which  lines  and  sheathes  its  inner  coat. 

In  patients  laboring  under  some  difficulty  from 
stricture  in  passing  urine,  the  mind  will  often 
greatly  increase  the  secretion  of  that  fluid,  and 
multiply  the  calls  to  pass  it  from  the  body.  This 
will  be  exemplified  in  the  chapter  on  strictures. 

The  Scrotum,  is  a  bag  of  skin,  divided  about  tho 


so  T.SE    ANATOMY    OF 

middle  by  a  septum,  so  as  to  form  two  cavities,  in 
each  of  which  a  testicle  is  contained.  The  situa- 
tion of  this  septum  is  marked  externally  by  an  irre- 
gular line  called  the  raphae.  The  contraction  or 
corruf^ation  of  the  scrotum,  which  occurs  at  times, 
is  said  by  some  anatomists  to  depend  on  the  action 
of  a  muscle  which  they  call  dartos.  The  testicles  or 
organs  which  secrete  the  semen,  are  nourished  and 
supplied  with  blood  by  long  and  teuaceous  vessels 
which  arise  from  the  main  arterial  trunk,  and  are 
called  spermatic  arteries;  the  blood  which  they 
thus  receive,  serves  for  elimination  and  secretion  of 
the  seed,  a  process  which  is  effected  by  the  peculiar 
action  of  the  testicles,  and  which  secreting  power 
affixes  to  these  organs  a  value  and  importance  in 
the  human  frame,  not  even  second  to  that  which 
attaches  to  those  generally  regarded  by  anatomists 
as  the  most  noble,  being  those,  the  destruction  or 
serious  impairment  of  the  functions  of  which  may 
involve  loss  of  life. 

The  ancient  Romans  would  not  allow  any  one  to 
bear  witness  against  another  in  a  court  of  justice, 
unless  he  were  perfect  in  the  organs  of  generation — 
unless  the  testicles  were  sound  and  entire.  The 
papal  clergy  so  far  carry  this  rule  into  effect,  that 
no  one  can  be  admitted  a  member  of  their  priest- 
hood, against  whom  a  similar  defect  can  with  truth 
be  alleged. 

Occasionally  the  testicles,  which  before  bi-rth  are 
lodged  within  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen,  do  not 
descend  into  the  scrotum  or  purse,  but  remain  in 
the  belly,  generally  within  what  is  called  the 
abdominal  canal.  Sometimes  one  only  is  retained 
in  the  abdom  n,  and  that  generally  the  left.  lu 
this  situation  they  are  exposed  to  various  causes  of 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  3} 

disease,  and  althougli  not  absolutely  deprived  of  the 
power  of  secreting  seed,  yet  their  action  is  generally 
more  or  less  imperfect,  in  all  probability  i'rom  the 
compression  they  undergo,  and  the  constant  irrita- 
tion to  which  they  are  subject,  from  the  narrowness 
of  the  canal  by  which  they  are,  in  fact,  somewhat 
elongated,  and  flattened,  and  smaller  than  usual. 

The  spermatic  artery  is  a  long  undulating,  and 
tortuous  vessel.  The  blood  which  is  thus  conveyed 
to  the  organs,  after  having  been  employed  by  the 
testicles  for  the  separation  and  secretion  of  the 
seed,  is  re-conveyed  in  a  refuse  state  by  other  ves- 
sels, called  the  spermatic  veins,  back  to  the  general 
circulatory  system  in  the  body.  The  double  set 
of  vessels,  the  veins  and  arteries,  the  old  anatomists 
call  the  vasa  deferentia,  as  being  the  parts  prin- 
cipally concerned  with  the  testicles  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  seed. 

The  spermatic  arteries  and  veins  are  remarkable 
for  their  smallness,  which  prevents  their  containing 
more  than  a  small  quantity  of  blood  at  a  time. 
They  pass  obliquely  downwards  and  outwards, 
behind  the  peritoneum,  and  are  contained  in  a  com- 
mon protecting  sheath  with  the  veins,  forming  with 
the  nerves  of  the  testicles  the  spermatic  chord ; 
they  then  run  over  the  psoas  muscles  and  ureters, 
and  pass  out  through  the  rings  of  the  abdomen  and 
abdominal  canal,  over  ^the  os  pubis,  and  into  the 
scrotum,  and  supplies  the  testes,  which  also  receives 
blood  from  the  artery  which  supplies  the  vas 
deferens.  The  latter  named  organ,  which  is  invested 
in  its  own  sheath,  called  tunica  vaginalis,  is-  com- 
posed of  the  body  of  the  testicle,  and  the  epididy- 
mis, the  latter  being  situated  at  the  upper  part. 
It  consists  of  an  inhnite   number  of  small  tubes 


32  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

(seminiferous)  which  terminate  in  the  epididymis. 
These  tubes  are  convohited  on  each  other,  and 
closely  connected  together,  but  which,  unraveled 
and  injected  with  quicksilver,  will  extend  to  a  con- 
siderable length. 

The  spermatic  veins  arise  in  three  sets  from  the 
testicle,  two  of  which  soon  unite.  Tiiey  are  exceed- 
ingly tortuous  in  their  course,  and  fully  anastomose 
with  each  other,  while  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
cord,  but  these  inter-communications  cease  after 
they  have  entered  the  abdominal  canal,  on  leaving 
which,  while  crossing  the  psoas  muscle,  they  unite 
together  and  form  one  vein,  which,  on  the  right 
side,  terminates  in  the  lower  vena  cava,  and  on  the 
left  in  the  vein  which  arises  from  the  kidney  on 
that  side.  The  larger  veins  are  provided  with 
valves.  The  nerves  of  the  testicles  are  principally 
derived  from  those  which  supply  the  kidneys.  They 
take  the  same  course  as  the  spermatic  arteries,  and 
constitute  with  them  and  the  veins  the  vSpermatic 
cord.  The  spermatic  nerves  are  finally  distributed 
to  the  substance  of  the  organ,  to  the  due  perform- 
ance of  the  function  of  which  they  are  subsidiary. 

According  to  the  correct  laws  of  nature,  each 
male  person  should  have  two  testicles,  one  in  each 
side  of  the  scrotum,  but  I  have  had  patients  with 
but  one,  and  some  with  three.  It  has  been  asserted 
that  some  males  have  been  known  to  have  four  or 
live,  but  I  doubt  its  truth.  AVhen  a  man  has  but 
one  testicle,  it  is  generally  larger  than  is  natural; 
and  in  those  1  have  seen  who  had  three,  one  was 
generally  smaller  than  the  other  two,  but,  in  one 
case,  one  was  larger  than  either  of  the  other  two. 
Such  person's  passions  are  generally  stronger  than 
those  who  have  two ;  yet  those  who  had  but  one, 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  33 

differed  but  little  from  the  major  part  of  those  who 
have  two.  Instances  have  been  known  of  males 
never  having  any  testicles  from  birth. 

Where  these  most  important  organs  are  natural 
in  size,  number  and  general  appearance,  they  are 
generally  nearly  two  inches  in  length,  one  and  a 
half  in  the  transverse  direction,  and  one  in  thick- 
ness. The  tunica  vaginalis,  or  investing  membrane 
of  the  testicles,  consists  of  two  layers,  the  inner 
one  directly  enveloping  the  testicle.  It  secretes 
a  kind  of  serum  which  serves  to  lubricate  it. 
Between  the  two  layers  of  the  vaginal  tunic,  is  con- 
tained the  fluid  hydrocele  of  the  scrotum.  In  some 
cases  the  cavity  formed  between  the  two  layers  of 
this  membrane,  remains  continuous  with  the  cavity 
of  the  abdomen.  In  such  instances,  there  is  the 
double  danger  of  the  occurrence  of  what  is  called 
congenital  rupture.   (Hernia.) 

Between  the  testicle  and  the  tunica  vaginalis, 
there  is  another  tunic  or  coat,  called  the  tunica 
albuginea,  which  is  smooth,  white,  and  inelastic. 
It  completely  covers  the  testicle,  but  not  the  q\)\' 
didymis.  The  testicle  is  also  invested  and  protected 
by  a  muscle,  called  the  cremaster.  It  expands  all 
around  the  tunica  vaginalis,  which  it  closely  em- 
braces, forming  a  hollow  muscle,  within  w^hich  tlic 
testicle  and  its  tunics  are  contained,  and  which, 
when  it  is  in  action,  contracts  and  draws  the  organ 
it  encloses  upwards  to  the  abdomen,  sustaining  and 
compressing  it,  and  forcing  out  along  the  vas  deferens 
the  semen  previously  secreted  by  the  organ.  The 
cremaster  muscle  is  small  and  indistinct  prior  to 
puberty;  after  that  period  it  is  greatly  developed 
in  persons  who  are  very  muscular. 

It  has  already  been  observed,  that  the  substanco 


oA  THE    ANATOSrV    OF 

of  the  testicle  consists  of  an  infinite  number  of 
small  tubes,  which  arc  called  the  iabule  seminiferi. 
Tliese  are  very  numerous;  the  number  has  been 
calculated  at  eight  hundred  and  forty,  and  their 
entire  length  at  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  feet,  the  mean  length  of  each  duct  being 
twenty-five  inches.  They  communicate  readily  with 
each  other,  and  thus  constitute  one  vast  net-work 
of  communication.  Their  size  is  greater  in  an 
active  adult  in  the  prime  of  life,  while  the  organs 
are  in  full  vigor.  Tiiey  differ  in.  the  testicles  of  the 
same  individual.  Two  or  more  tubes  unite  and 
form  a  conical  lobe,  of  these,  there  are  between 
four  and  five  hundred  in  each  testicle. 

The  Epididymis,  which  it  has  been  stated  is 
seated  at  the  upper  and  back  part  of  the  testicle, 
is  the  continuation  of  the  numerous  seed-bearing 
tubes  ;  it  descends  along  the  back  part  of  the  tes- 
ticle, gradually  becomes  larger  in  diameter,  but  less 
convoluted  until  it  begins  to  ascend,  when  it  obtains 
the  name  of  vas  deferens.  It  is  no  longer  than  the 
testicle.  It  consists  principally  of  seminal  canals, 
from  which  arise  in  the  after  part  of  the  right  testes, 
the  vasa  efferentia^  or  defferent  vessels,  of  which 
tubes  there  are  generally  twelve.  Their  average 
united  length,  is  nearly  eight  feet,  the  separate 
length  of  each,  being  rather  more  than  seven  inches. 

The  vas  deferens^  the  excretory  duct  of  the  testi- 
cle, forms  a  constituent  part  of  the  spermatic  cord, 
and  is  readily  distinguished  from  the  arteries,  veins, 
nerves  and  absorbents,  by  its  cartilaginous  feel.  It 
terminates  in  the  seminal  vesicle,  immediately  above 
and  behind  the  prostate  gland,  and  with  it,  forms' 
the  ejaculatory  canal,  which  perforates  the  prosta* 
tic  part  of  the  urethra. 


THE    GEXMPvATIVE    ORGAKS.  3o 

The  testicles  in  the  foetns,  are  sitna.ted  in  the 
[ibdomcn,  immediately  below  the  kidneys.  The 
epididymis  is  about  one-third  larger  relatively  to 
the  body  of  the  testicle,  than  it  is  in  the  adult. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  period  of  puberty,  the 
testicles  are  generally  found  in  the  scrotum.  The 
non-descent  of  both  testicles  is  of  comparatively 
rare  occurrence.  One  sometimes  remains  perma- 
nently fixed  in  the  situation  which  it  occupied  when 
the  child  was  born,  but  it  occasionally  descends 
prior  to  puberty,  most  generally  between  the  second 
and  the  tenth  year.  An  operation  for  the  descent 
of  a  testicle,  is  tedious,  severe,  and  sometimes  fatal . 
The  testicles  not  having  descended  into  the  scrotun^, 
are  not  generally  deprived  of  their  power  of  genera- 
tion. In  some  cases,  their  integrity  is  full.  It 
occasionally  happens  that  the  testicles  do  not  attain 
their  full  size  and  power  of  secreting  semen.  Such 
instances  are  not  beyond  the  iuiioence  of  the  proper 
treatment,  however,  unless  they  occur  in  the  per- 
sons of  idiots.  This  is  treated  upon,  in  the  subse- 
quent pages  of  this  work. 

Semen  will  not  combine  with  water  at  any  tem- 
perature, from  zero  to  the  boiling  point,  unless  it 
has  previously  been  liquified  in  nitric  or  sulphuric 
acids.  The  amount  of  seminal  fluid  emitted  during 
the  act  of  sexual  congress,  varies  from  one  to  tv.o 
or  three  drachms.  As  stated  in  the  following 
pages  of  this  work,  healthy  semen  contains  ani- 
malculss. 

The  spermatozoa  are  imperfect  or  deficient  in 
the  semen  of  mules  or  hybrid  animals.  Hence 
depends,  in  all  probability,  the  impotence  or  ster- 
ility of  those  creatures.  They  arc  generally  utterly 
incapable  of  generation      There  are,  however,  in- 


36  THE    AXATOMY    OF 

stances  both  amona;  the  mammalia  and  birds,  of 
individuals  belonf^iiig  to  species  universally  held  to 
be  distinct,  uniting  and  producing  young,  which 
again  were  prolific.  The  mule  can  engender  with 
the  mare,  and  the  she  mule  can  conceive.  They 
occur,  however,  more  frequently  in  warm  countries. 
Buffon  says,  the  offspring  of  the  he  goat  and  ewe, 
possess  perfect  powers  of  re-production.  We  might 
expect  these  animals,  with  the  addition  of  the 
Chamois,  to  copulate  together  easily,  because  they 
are  nearly  of  the  same  size,  very  similar  in  internal 
structure,  and  accustomed  to  artificial  domestic  life, 
and  to  the  society  of  each  other  from  birth  up- 
wards. There  is  a  similar  facility  in  some  birds, 
when  such  unions  are  often  fruitful,  and  produce 
prolific  offspring.  The  cock  and  hen  canary  birds, 
produce  with  the  hen  and  cock,  siskins  and  gold- 
finch ;  the  hen  canary  produces  with  the  cock 
chaffinch,  bullfinch,  yellow-hammer,  and  sparrow. 
The  progeny  in  all  these  cases  is  prolific,  and 
breeds  not  only  with  both  the  species  from  which 
they  spring,  but  likewise  with  each  other.  The 
common  cock,  and  the  hen  partridge,  as  well  as  the 
cock  and  Guinea  hen,  and  the  pheasant  and  the 
hen,  can  produce  together. 

Notwithstanding  all  these,  and  perhaps  other 
examples  which  might  be  adduced,  the  general 
rule  is,  that  hybrids  are  incompetent  to  perform 
the  act  of  generation,  so  as  to  produce  ofls})riiig  ; 
and  it  is  a  wise  provision  of  nature  that  such  slionkl 
be  the  case,  to  prevent  the  world  being  inliabited 
by  monstrous  creatures,  as  would  be  the  case,  were 
it  the  general  rule  tiiat  fecundation  followed  the 
act  of  copulation,  when  practised  by  the  offspring 
of  parents  of  different  species. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  3/ 

The  Yesicul.e  Seminales,  or  seminal  vesicles, 
are  two  sacs  or  oblique  bags,  behind  and  below  tlie 
bladder,  between  it  and  the  rectum,  and  closely 
connected  with  it  by  cellular  tissue.  That  part 
which  is  applied  against  the  bladder  is  concave, 
the  opposite  surface  convex.  They  occupy  an 
oblique  position,  their  lower  extremities  being 
separated  only  by  the  different  vessels,  while  their 
upper  ends  are  at  a  considerable  distance  from  each 
other.  The  latter  are  the  larger,  and  their  greatest 
breadth  is  generally  three  or  four  times  less  than 
their  length,  and  their  thickness  is  about  one-third 
of  their  breadth;  they  are  about  three  fingers, 
breadth  in  length;  the  contents  pass  through  vesi- 
cles from  one  part  of  the  tube  to  the  other. 

The  seminal  vesicles  have  two  coats  ;  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  inner  one  small  cells  exist.  It,  no 
doubt,  is  a  secreting  membrane.  The  seminal  vesi- 
cles are  well  supplied  with  arteries,  veins,  nerves 
and  absorbents.  Near  the  prostate  cells  cease 
to  appear  ;  the  vesicle  contracts,  and  forms  a  kind 
of  duct  which  unites  with  the  vas  deferens  at  a  very 
acute  angle,  the  place  of  union  being  marked  by  a 
projecting  septum  or  valve,  by  which  the  contents 
of  the  deffereut  vessels  are  directed  into  the  seminal 
vesicle. 

The  ejaculatory  duct  thus  formed  by  the  union 
of  the  vas  deferens  and  seminal  vesicle,  is  from  half 
an  inch  to  three  quarters  long  ;  it  continues  to  be- 
come narrower  as  it  passes  behind  the  third  lobe 
of  the  prostate,  perforates  that  body,  and  running 
some  way  along  the  under  surface  of  the  urethra, 
enters  that  canal  obliquely  by  a  small  opening  on 
the  side  of  the  caput  galliuaginis.  The  junction  of 
the  two  vessels  which  form   this  common  duct,   is 


38  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

such,  notwithstanding  the  acutcness  of  the  angle, 
air  gently  thrown  into  the  vas  deferens  by  a  blow 
pipe,  will  inflate  the  seminal  vesicle  before  it  enters 
the  urethra,  but  if  thrown  with  violence,  it  will  im- 
mediately inflate  both  the  uretlira  and  seminal  vesi- 
cle. The  seminal  vesicles  are  very  large  in  the 
boar,  and  divided  into  cells  of  considerable  extent, 
having  one  common  duct.  They  have  no  commu- 
nication with  the  vas  deferens  in  the  rat,  nor  in  the 
beaver.  In  the  Guinea  pig,  they  constitute  long 
cylindrical  tubes,  and  have  not  any  communication 
with  the  deflferent  vessels.  These  facts  do  not  afford 
conclusive  proof,  however,  that  the  seed  may  not 
pass  into  the  vesicles  from  the  defiferent  vessels  in 
the  human  subject.  Notwithstanding  the  acuteness 
of  the  angle  between  the  two  vessels  at  their  junc- 
tion, from  the  length  of  the  common  tube  the  wide- 
ness  of  that  part  of  it  formed  by  the  vesicle  wher 
the  two  vessels  meet,  and  the  very  small  aperture 
by  which  it  opens  into  the  urethra,  the  fluid,  w^hich 
form  the  length  and  contortion  of  the  seminal  tubes, 
must  pass  very  slowly  from  the  testicles,  will  insinu- 
ate itself  much  more  readily  through  the  large  com- 
munication with  the  vesicle,  than  through  the  very 
small  ones  with  the  urethra,  unless  it  be  prevented 
from  so  doing  by  the  vesicle  attempting  to  throw 
its  contents  into  the  urethra  at  the  same  time. 
During  coition,  this  attempt  is  made,  and  both 
fluids  pass  at  once  into  the  urethra,  where  the  fluid 
•secreted  by  the  vesicles  being  added  to  that  coming 
from  the  testicles  by  the  defferent  vessels,  between 
them,  a  proper  quantity  is  produced  to  distend  suf- 
ficiently the  sinus  of  the  urethra,  that  the  muscles 
of  ejection  may  act  on  its  contents  with  more 
power. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  30 

From  the  frequent  excitement  of  the  passions, 
and  their  gratification  beinj:^  denied  in  the  civiHzed 
state  of  human  society,  fluid  nmst  often  be  secreted 
in  the  testicles  at  times,  when  it  cannot  be  natu- 
rally evacuated ;  and  although  the  accumulation  of 
it  in  this  organ  sometimes  produces  tension  and 
pain,  the  fullness  of  the  vessels  often  subsides  with- 
out these  unpleasant  symptoms  having  taken  place. 
Thus,  when  the  vis  a  tergo  no  longer  drives  the 
semen  slowly  on,  the  muscular  properties  of  the 
vas  deferens  may  assist  in  conveying  that  fluid  on 
towards  the  vesicles,  which  may  receive  it  until  tlie 
time  of  ejectment  arrives.  They  may  thus  under 
particular  circumstances, — more  likely  to  occur  in 
the  human  species  than  in  brutes, — be  employed  as 
reservoirs,  although  their  ordinary  use  may  be  to 
secrete  a  fluid  which,  mixing  with  the  semen  during 
coition,  may  render  the  act  more  perfect,  and  more 
likely,  therefore,  to  produce  fecundation. 

An  additional  reason  may  be  adduced  in  support 
of  the  theory,  that  the  seminal  vesicles  act  as  reser- 
voirs for  the  seed  in  man,  in  the  well  known  fact, 
that  animals  possessing  a  penis,  but  destitute  of 
seminal  vesicles,  remain  for  a  long  time  in  sexual 
contact,  because  the  fluid  necessary  for  fecundation, 
from  the  long  course  it  has  to  take  during  copula- 
tion, only  flows  from  the  urethra  drop  by  drop. 

A  distinct  communication  between  the  seminal 
vesicles  and  the  deferent,  takes  place  only  in  man, 
and  in  those  animals  which  most  resemble  him  in 
form,  as  in  ti^e  whole  tribe  of  the  simiae.  The 
vesicles  are  altogether  absent  in  the  lion,  panther, 
cat  and  dog. 

The  prostate  gland,  in  shape  and  size,  resembles 
a  chestnut.     It  is  situated  below  and  ))ehind  the 


40  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

bladder,  and  above  and  in  front  of  the  rectum. 
The  base  incHnes  upwards  and  backwards,  the 
apex  pointing  downwards  and  forwards.  A  notch 
in  the  middle  of  the  base,  divides  the  prostate  into 
two  Lateral  lobes,  immediately  above  which  are  the 
lowest  parts  of  the  deferent  vessels,  and  seminal 
vesicles,  the  ducts  of  which  begin  to  perforate  the 
gland  in  the  middle  of  the  notch,  and  then  pass 
into  the  under  part  of  the  urethra,  where  it  is  sur- 
rounded by  the  substance  of  the  gland.  The  neck 
of  the  bladder  is  surrounded  by  the  prostate,  as  is 
also  the  commencement  of  the  urethra.  When  the 
prostate  gland  becomes  enlarged  from  diseases,  it 
passes  upward  towards  the  cavity  of  the  bladder, 
immediately  behind  the  commencement  of  the 
urethra,  and  occasionally  bends  over  that  opening, 
acting  as  a  sort  of  valve  to  prevent  the  expulsion 
of  the  urine.  The  veins  and  absorbents  of  the 
prostate  are  numerous,  and  empty  themselves  into 
those  which  are  connected  with  the  bladder.  The 
fluid  which  it  secretes  is  of  a  white  or  cream  color; 
it  is  viscid,  and  has  a  slightly  salt  taste.  Its  use 
seems  to  be  to  lubricate  the  surface  of  the  urethra, 
along  which  the  semen  is  to  pass.  It  is  thrown 
out  in  considerable  quantity,  when  the  parts  are  in 
a  state  fit  for  immediate  copulation;  much  of  it 
then  unites  with  the  seminal  fluid,  and  is  discharged 
with  that  fluid  when  emission  takes  place. 

The  fluid  of  the  prostate,  like  that  of  the  seminal 
vesicles,  is  not  absolutely  necessary  for  the  pur- 
poses of  generation  in  all  animals  which  possess 
testicles  ;  and  although  the  gland  is  found  in  man 
and  the  tribes  of  the  simiae,  the  lion,  dog,  etc., 
it  is  not  present  in  the  bull,  the  buck,'  and  ram,  and 
goat,  and  most  probably  in  all  ruminating  animals 


PLATE  4. 


THE    GENE^TIVE    ORGANS.  43 

Both  the  ghiud  and  the  seminal  vesicles  are  v/ant- 
iiig*  in  birds  and  amphibious  animals,  and  in  lish 
which  have  testicles,  as  the  ray  kind.  The  prostate 
is  said  to  be  double  in  the  elephant,  camel,  horse, 
and  some  other  animals.  The  semen,  is  never 
evacuated,  but  where  the  liquor  of  the  prostate 
gland  goes  before,  and  follows  after  it.  It  is  obvi- 
vious,  therefore,  how  powerfully  it  must  conduce  to 
health,  to  have  the  secretion  of  this  gland  in  a 
sound  and  pure  state,  as  it  is  so  intimately  connected 
with  the  finest  functions  in  the  animal  economy. 
The  seed  and  secretion  of  the  prostate  gland  are 
intimately  mixed  together  in  the  urethra.  The 
appearance  of  the  secretion  of  the  prostate,  when 
diseased,  nearly  resembles  putrid  matter.  It  is 
plentifully  secreted  in  good  health,  and  seems 
intended  by  nature  to  be  a  vehicle  to  dilute,  nourish, 
and  convey  the  thick  and  ash-colored  concocted 
semen.  We  have  seen  in  the  most  healthy  men, 
who  have  long  abstained  from  venery,  a  running  of 
the  humor  from  this  gland,  from  its  being  in  a 
relaxed  state,  during  which  the  semen  will  be  emited 
by  the  slightest  straining,  and  from  ideas  of  the 
mind,  both  while  awake  and  asleep.  The  sooner 
the  patient  gets  this  relaxed  state  restored  the 
better.  I  very  often  cure  patients  who  had  been 
under  the  charge  of  physicians,  surgeons,  and  pro- 
fessors of  our  colleges,  and  who  treated  them  for  a 
venereal  or  gonorrhoeal  affection,  when,  in  fact,  it 
was  a  diseased  prostate  and  the  neighboring  parts. 
Errors  of  this  kind  produce  great  injury.  Eunuchs 
often  eject  prostatic  liquor  when  they  have  an  erec- 
tion ;  geldings  often  do  the  same  when  they  strive 
to  leap.  Good  semen  cannot  be  found  when  these 
parts  are  diseased  ;  great  caution  should,  therefore, 


44-  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

be  observed  by  all  those   entering  the   marriage 
state,  to  be  well  assured  that  tliis  humor  of  the 
prostate  is  m  a  sound  and  healthy  state  ;  varioua . 
evils  will  arise  in  consequence,  especially  sterility 
and  impotence. 

llealtliy  men  continually  separate  semen  from 
the  blood,  which,  being  retained  and  inspissated, 
like  the  white  of  an  egg  or  starch,  would  be  most 
immoveable,  if  it  were  not  for  the  more  thin  juice 
of  the  prostate  gland,  when  in  a  sound  state,  wliich 
mixes  v/ith  it,  and  serves  to  lubricate  the  urethra, 
almost  like  an  oil.  Besides  this,  as  the  animalculas 
must  stay  a  long  time,  perhaps,  before  it  arrives  in 
the  uterus  or  womb,  it  seems  necessary  for  it  to  be 
provided  with  a  suitable  aliment ;  for,  unless  nature 
nourished  the  auimalcula3  when  formed,  it  would 
certainly  perish  or  become  extinct :  and  this  nutri- 
tious liquor  is  that  of  the  prostate  gland,  which  in 
some  animals  is  larger  than  are  the  testicles  them- 
selves. 

Cowper's  glands,  which  are  situate  between  the 
bulb  of  the  urethra  and  the  membranous  portion, 
are  about  the  size  of  two  small  garden  peas.  They 
open  into  the  canal  by  two  small  ducts,  and  appear 
to  secrete  a  mucus  which  serves  to  lubricate  the 
urethra. 

The  urethra,  a  membranous  canal,  extending 
from  the  neck  of  the  bladder  to  the  end  of  the  penis, 
is  divided  into  the  prostatic,  membranous,  bulbous, 
and  pendulous  portions.  Its  coats  are  the  same  as 
those  of  the  bladder,  of  which  it  is  apparently  a 
prolongation.  The  first  or  prostatic  portion,  com- 
mencing immediately  from  the  neck  of  the  bladder, 
is  surrounded  by  the  prostate.  On  the  under  side 
of  its  internal  surface  there  is  a  projecting  body, 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  45 

on  the  sid€S  of  which  the  coramou  ducts  of  the 
deferent  vessels  and  seminal  vesicles  open  into  the 
canal,  as  also  the  ducts  of  tiie  prostate. 

The  portion  of  the  urethra  between  the  prostatic 
and  bulbous  portions,  is  called  the  membranous;  and 
the  reason  that  has  been  alleged  for  this  is,  because 
its  circumference  is  less  than  that  of  any  other  part 
of  the  canal.  Its  length  is  generally  about  an  inch 
when  the  penis  is  in  a  state  of  erecticn  ;  when 
otherwise,  it  is  somewhat  less.  It  is  cylindrical  in 
form  for  about  half  its  length.  The  urethra  soon 
after  takes  the  name  bulbous,  when  it  meets  with 
the  pendulous  portion  of  the  bulb,  the  substance  of 
which,  however,  it  does  not  enter  until  it  reaches 
the  arch  of  the  pubis.  At  this  part  it  is  attached 
to  the  symphysis  by  muscular  fibres.  These  muscles 
are  influential  in  the  expulsion  of  the  semen.  The 
urethra  at  this  part  enlarges  somewhat  at  its 
under  part,  forming  a  kind  of  sinus.  The  canal 
afterwards  bends  forwards,  and  is  surrounded  by 
the  spongy  bodies  through  its  course  along  the 
under  surface  of  the  penis. 

The  whole  of  the  internal  surface  of  urethra  is 
abundantly  supplied  with  mucus  to  defend  it  from 
the  acrimony  of  the  urine.  It  is  secreted  partly  by 
vessels  which  form  small  projections  on  the  inner 
surface  of  the  canal,  as  shown  in  the  engraving, 
and  partly  by  glandular  structures  situated  at  the 
bottom  and  sides  of  the  very  numerous  lucunae,  or 
depressioDs,  dispersed  over  every  part  of  the  internal 
membrane,  the  openings  of  which  are  directed 
towards  the  termination  of  the  urethra,  so  that  the 
mucus  is  pressed  out  of  their  cavities  by  the  urine 
as  it  flows  from  the  bladder. 
The  urethra  is  very  vascular,  and  possesses  a  certain 


4C  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

degree  of  elasticity.  Its  memLvanes  are  ve)  /  thin, 
and  almost  transparent,  and  without  fibres,  so  that 
in  itself  it  does  not  possess  the  power  of  muscular 
contraction  and  relaxation.  It  is,  however,  pro- 
vided with  muscles,  tlie  action  of  which  is  to  assist 
the  expulsion  of  the  urine,  and  also  of  the  semen 
during-  copulation.  The  whole  length  of  the  penis 
is  about  twelve  inches,  though  it  varies  much  in 
different  individuals. 

The  Penis  consists  of  the  cavernous  bodies,  (Cor- 
poro  cavernosa,)  and  of  the  spongy  body,  (Corpus 
spongiosum,)  the  latter  terminating  in  the  gland  or 
glands.  The  cavernous  bodies  constitute  the  upper 
part  of  the  penis  ;  in  the  upper  groove  there  being 
a  large  vein,  two  arteries,  nerves  and  absorbents, 
and  in  the  lower  the  spongy  body  surrounding  the 
urethra.  The  convex  conical  surface  of  the  gland 
is  covered  by  a  fine  membrane,  in  color  resembling 
the  red  part  of  the  lips.  At  its  base,  or  corners, 
there  are  rows  of  projecting  papillar,  which  secrete 
a  sebaceous  matter,  having  a  peculiar  smell.  The 
gland,  which  possesses  exquisite  sensibility,  is  pro- 
tected by  the  loose  covering  called  the  prepuce 
or  foreskin,  which  is  tied  to  the  penis,  immediately 
below  the  orifice  of  the  urethra,  by  the  band  called 
fraenum  :  this  limits  the  motion  of  the  prepuce,  and 
tends  to  keep  it  in  its  proper  place. 

The  spongy  substance  of  the  urethra,  which 
forms  the  glans  penis,  is  covered  externally  with  an 
exceeding  thin  membrane  or  cuticle,  under  which 
are  placed  the  very  sensible  nervous  papilla},  which 
are  the  chief  seat  and  cause  of  pleasure  and  pain  in 
this  part.  We  may  now  understand  why  many,  in 
the  venereal  act,  have  not  the  glans  distended, 
though  the  whole  penis  is  at  the  same  time  turgid, 


PLATE  5. 
Fifj.  6 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  49 

because  the  glans  beloni?  entirely  to  the  cavernous 
body  of  the  urethra  ;  and  if  that  body  be  paralytic 
or  weakened  from  any  preceding  or  existing  cause, 
which  we  have  often  known  to  proceed  from  un- 
natural practices  ;  in  all  those  people  where  the 
spongy  body  of  the  urethra  is  not  distended,  impo- 
tence will  arise,  which,  if  not  perfectly  understood, 
cannot  be  cured  by  any  physician ;  whereas,  in 
healthy  men,  when  these  organs  are  in  due  tone 
during  the  orgasmus  veneris,  or  the  moment  before 
the  semen  is  ejected,  the  glans  and  whole  cavernous 
body  of  the  urethra  are  extremely  turgid,  so  as  to 
be  ready  to  burst ;  but  soon  after,  a  kind  of  con- 
vulsive motion  follows,  and  the  semen  is  discharged 
with  a  slight  loss  of  strength  for  a  little  time 
throughout  the  whole  body,  which  soon  recovers  its 
usual  vigor. 

During  coition,  the  corpus  spongiosum  and  glans 
penis  are  rendered  turgid  by  the  blood  filling  their 
vascular  structure,  and  the  whole  of  the  urethra  is 
lengthened,  but  made  narrower  and  straighter. 
The  seed  is  gradually  deposited  in  the  sinus  of  the 
bulb,  the  glans  being  placed  at  the  other  extremity 
of  the  corpus  spongiosum,  and  endowed  with  a  pecu- 
liar sensibility.  When  a  sufficient  quantity  of  semen 
is  collected,  it  excites  the  muscles  covering  the  bulb 
to  action,  and  the  contraction  of  the  fibres  taking 
place,  the  semen  is  propelled  rapidly  along  the  canal; 
the  blood  in  the  bulb  is  at  the  same  time  pressed 
forwards,  but  requiring  a  greater  impulse,  it  forms 
an  undulatory  wave  behind  the  semen,  narrowing 
the  uretfera,  and  urging  on  the  semen  with  in- 
creased force. 

When  the  passion  of  desire  does  not  exist,  the 
])lood  is  not  poured  out  into  the  cells  of  the  corpora 


50  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

cavernosa,  but  returns  by  the  veins  as  usual,  and 
the  penis  remains  flaccid  ;  but  when  a  person  is 
under  the  influence  of  particular  impressions  which 
excite  the  nerves  of  these  parts,  the  minute  arterial 
branches,  which  before  had  tlieir  orifices  closed, 
have  their  action  suddenly  increased,  and  pour 
from  their  open  mouths  the  blood  into  these  cells, 
60  as  to  distend  them,  of  course  overcoming  the 
elastic  power  that,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
keeps  them  collapsed.  In  this  way  the  penis  is 
rendered  fit  to  convey  the  semen  to  the  female 
organs  of  generation.  The  erection  of  the  penis  is 
greatly  aided  by  the  action  of  certain  muscles, 
called  the  erectors  of  the  penis. 

The  great  vein  of  the  penis  is  formed  by  branches 
from  the  gland,  sides  of  the  corpus  spongiosum, 
and  common  integuments,  runs  along  the  back  of 
the  penis  in  the  upper  groove  to  its  root,  where  it 
divides  into  two  vessels  which  pass  under  the  arch 
of  the  pubis,  receive  other  veins  from  the  prostate 
and  bladder,  and  empty  themselves  into  the  internal 
iliac.  The  absorbents  of  the  penis  are  very  numer- 
ous, and  terminate  in  the  glands  of  the  groins.  A 
few  observations  here  on  puberty,  and  the  changes 
it  effects  in  the  system,  will,  I  think,  be  most 
opportune. 

The  approach  of  puberty,  induces  marked  changes 
in  the  general  system  of  the  male  and  female,  as 
well  as  in  the  local  organs  which  are  subservient  to 
generation.  The  growth  of  hair  on  the  chin,  upper 
lip,  and  sides  of  the  face  of  the  male,  and  on  the 
pubes  of  male  and  female;  the  peculiar  alteration 
of  the  voice,  especially  in  the  man,  the  greater  firm- 
ness of  muscle,  the  extraordinary  change  in  the 
passions  and  feelings,  together  with  the  great  in- 


THE   GENERATIVE    ORGy^NS.  51 

crease  in  the  size  of  the  penis  and  testicles  of  tlie 
man,  show  the  advent  of  a  peculiar  change  in  the 
system,  by  which  it  is  adapted  for  the  propagation 
of  the  species.  The  desire  for  coition,  implanted  by 
nature  for  a  wise  purpose,  becomes  developed  after 
the  period  of  puberty,  and  the  organs  by  which  the 
act  is  performed,  gradually  assume  their  full  vigor 
and  dimensions. 

The  age  at  which  the  peculiar  changes  in  the 
organism  called  puberty  takes  place,  varies  in  dif- 
ferent climates  and  in  different  constitutions.  It  is 
also  influenced  by  the  mode  of  life  and  circum- 
stances of  the  individual.  The  period  of  puberty 
occurs  earlier  in  warm  than  in  cold  climates;  in 
temperate  countries,  it  takes  place  from  the  four- 
teenth to  the  seventeenth  year;  the  passions  of 
youth  living  in  large  cities  and  towns,  are,  however, 
excited  earlier  than  are  those  of  the  agricultural 
population,  on  account  of  the  greater  sources  of 
temptation  to  which  they  are  exposed. 

In  those  animals  which  are  not  endowed  with 
reason  to  guide  their  actions,  the  desire  for  copula- 
tion occurs  periodically,  and  in  some  the  testicles 
increase  in  size  until  the  season  of  procreation  is 
over,  and  then  decrease,  and  continue  small,  until 
the  commencement  of  the  next  season.  Evidence 
of  this  may  readily  be  found  in  the  testicles  of  the 
cock-sparrow,  which  progressively  increase  in  size 
from  January  till  the  end  of  April,  when  the  love 
season  of  these  birds  usually  terminates.  The  in- 
crease and  diminution  of  these  organs,  however,  do 
not  take  place  in  birds  only,  but  has  been  dis- 
covered in  many  other  animals,  more  especially  in 
the  laud-mouse  and  mole. 

There  are  several  reasons  which  might  be  alleged 


.52  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

for  the  existence  of  a  periodical  desire  for  copula- 
tion amonj^  animals — were  it  otherwise,  as  the  pas- 
sion for  sexual  intercourse  is  very  powerful,  and 
animals  do  not  possess  the  light  of  reason  so  as  to 
be  enabled  to  restrain  or  subdue  their  passions,  it 
is  probable  that  from  its  excessive  indulgence,  all 
their  other  habits  might  be  lost,  and  even  the 
necessity  of  providing  for  their  present  and  future 
wants  might  be  forgotten;  besides  which,  in  those 
animals  which  are  very  fruitful,  and  which  do  not 
long  carry  their  young,  their  number  would  be  in 
a  short  time  exceedingly  great,  far  beyond  the 
means  of  support  that  nature  has  provided  for 
them.  Another  reason  might  be  alleged,  that, 
were  domestic  animals  always  in  heat,  they  would 
be  of  comparatively  little  service  to  man,  while  the 
flesh  of  wild  ones  would  be  too  coarse  and  rank, 
and  altogether  unfit  for  the  purposes  of  nourish- 
ment. Tiie  period  of  the  year  during  which  the 
desire  for  copulation  principally  exists  in  animals,  is 
that  of  spring — few  experience  any  sexual  desire 
during  the  winter,  except  the  frog,  wolf  and  fox; 
the  severity  of  the  cold  seems  to  destroy,  at  least 
for  the  time,  all  such  feelings.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  climates  where  the  summer  is  very  hot,  the  geni- 
tal organs  of  animals  become  so  much  relaxed  in 
tone,  as  to  render  them  unfit  for  the  proper  per- 
formance of  the  necessary  act.  The  case  is,  how- 
ever, somewhat  difierent  in  domestic  animals;  the 
passion  is  less  periodical,  the  secretion  of  semen, 
not  being  arrested  by  cold,  to  which  they  are  much 
less  exposed,  and  the  circumstances  in  which  they 
are  placed  being  altogether  different. 

Generally  the  desire  in  the  male  and  female  for 
procreation  arises  at  puberty,  and  may  be  indulged 


THE    GEXERATIVH    ORGANS.  53 

in,  if  health  and  the  requisite  powers  continue,  at 
all  times  and  seasons  of  the  year.  Be'Ing  endowed 
by  nature  with  the  high,  and  exalted  function  of  rea- 
son, they  are  left  free  agents,  having  the  full  power 
to  use  or  abuse  such  capabilities,  with  the  conscious- 
ness that  if  they  do  abuse  the  functions  with  which 
they  are  gifted,  they  must  abide  the  penalty,  Man 
is  not  affected  by  changes  of  temperature  as  are  the 
wild  animals,  either  as  respects  excessive  heat  or  in- 
tense cold,  and,  consequently  the  human  testicles 
are  generally  the  same  in  dimensions  after  puberty 
throughout  the  year.  The  secretion  of  semen  by 
man,  begins  about  the  period  of  puberty.  The 
passion  for  copulation,  and  the  secretion  of  semen, 
are  indications  of  the  great  change  which  takes 
place  in  the  system  at  that  time.  Those  eunuchs 
only  are  not  influenced  by  the  desire  for  procrea- 
tion who  were  deprived  of  the  organs  of  generation 
prior  to  puberty;  those  who  were  castrated  subse- 
quent to  that  event,  still  entertain  the  desire  for  in- 
tercourse, although  in  a  less  degree  than  men  who 
have  all  their  organs  entire.  Desire  is  more  lan- 
guid in  advanced  age,  than  during  the  period  of  the 
adult  life;  the  semen  is  then  more  sparingly  secre- 
ted, and,  indeed,  all  the  functions  of  the  system  are 
performed  in  a  less  energetic  manner,  although,  as 
will  soon  be  shown,  old  men  are  not  in  every  instance 
deprived  of  the  power  of  generation.  Desire  is 
also  generally  moderate  in  persons  who  have  small 
organs,  occasionally  it  is  altogether  absent. 

To  the  use  of  the  sexual  organs  for  the  continu- 
ance of  his  race,  man  is  prompted  by  a  powerful  in- 
stinctive desire,  which  he  shares  with  the  lower 
animals.  This  instinct  is  excited  by  sensations;  and 
these  may  either  originate  in   the   sexual  organs 


54  THE    AX  ATOMY    OF 

themselves,  or  may  be  excited  through  tlie  organs 
of  special  sensation.  Thus  in  man  it  is  most  pow- 
erfully aroused  by  impressions  conveyed  through 
the  sight  or  touch ;  in  many  animals  the  auditory 
and  olfactory  organs  communicate  impressions 
which  have  an  equal  power;  and  it  is  not  improba- 
ble that  in  certain  morbidly,  excited  states  of  feel- 
ing, the  same  may  be  the  case  in  ourselves.  Local 
impressions — as  stated  in  the  subsequent  part  of 
this  work — has  a  very  powerful  effect  in  exciting 
sexual  desire,  as  the  experience  of  almost  every  one 
will  attest;  local  diseases,  as  hereafter  mentioned, 
often  cause  the  most  criminal  acts.  The  instinct, 
for  sexual  intercourse,  when  once  aroused,  even 
though  very  obscurely  felt,  acts  upon  the  mental 
feelings,  and  thus  becomes  the  source,  though  al- 
most unconsciously  "so  to  the  individual,  of  the 
tendency  to  form  that  kind  of  attachment  towards 
one  of  the  opposite  sex,  which  is  known  as  love. 
This  tendency  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  simple  pas- 
sion or  emotion  since  it  is  the  result  of  the  combined 
operations  of  the  reason,  the  imagination,  and  the 
moral  feelings;  and  it  is  the  engraftment,  so  to 
speak,  of  the  physical  attachment  upon  mere  cor- 
poreal irrstiuct,  that  a  difference  exists  between 
the  sexual  relations  of  man,  and  those  of  the 
lower  animals. 


EEMALE  GENERATIVE  ORGANS. 

The  female  organs  of  generation  are  classed  in 
two  divisions — External  and  Internal.  The  Exter- 
nal consists  of  tlie  mons  veneris,  labia  externa,  perin- 
eum,  clitoris    with   its   prepuce,    nymphae,    ve-'^tibuk, 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  55 

meatus  urinarious,  hymen  in  virg'ins,  and  carunculae 
myrliformies  in  matrons. 

The  Internal  are  the  vagina,  uterus,  two  ovaries, 
and  two  fallopian  tubes.  The  latter  four  are  strictly 
copulative,  and  the  others,  generative  organs. 

THE    VULVA. 

The  vulva,  or  pudendum,  is  a  collective  designa- 
tion for  the  external  female  genitals,  including  the 
mons  veneris,  the  internal  and  external  labia,  the 
clitoris,  and  the  orifice  of  the  vagina. 

The  mons  veneris,  which  is  the  same  as  in  man,  is 
the  elevation  of  the  integuments  directly  over  tho 
pubis.  It  is  constituted  of  condensed  cellular  tis- 
sue and  adipose  matter,  and  in  the  adult  is  covered 
with  hair. 

The  labia  externa,  or  mo  jar  a,  are  two  folds  of 
skin  continuous  with  the  mons  veneris;  they  extend 
in  the  longitudinal  direction,  and  terminate  below 
in  an  angular  commissure, — the  fourchette.  Like 
the  mons  veneris,  they  are  composed  of  cellular  tis- 
sue and  fat,  and  form  the  anterior  boundary  of  the 
sexual  organs.  The  internal  lining  of  these  parts 
is  a  delicate,  vascular  epithelium,  which  is  fur- 
nished with  mucus  follicles.  The  distance  between 
the  fourchette  and  the  anus  constitute  the  perineum 
and  is  about  an  inch  in  length. 

The  labia  interna  or  minora,  called  also  the 
nymjphce,  are  duplicatures  of  the  epithelial  mem- 
brane within  the  external  labia.  They  arise  from 
the  anterior  commissure  of  those  bodies,  and  sur- 
round the  base  of  the  clitoris,  thus  forming  the 
prepiotium  clitoridis.  At  the  inferior  margin  of  tiie 
clitoridis  the  folds  of  the  nympha3  unite  in  the  framir 


56  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

lum,  from  wliicli  point  they  divtrfrc,  and  are  gradu* 
ally  lost  on  the  inner  surface  of  the  labia  majora,  at 
the  orifice  of  the  vagina.  The  clUoris,  in  several 
respects,  resembles  the  male  penis.  It  is  formed 
of  erectile  tissue,  and  arises  by  two  crura  from  the 
rami  of  the  pubis  and  ischium.  It  has  also  a  sus- 
pensory ligament,  but  is  imperforate,  and  seldom 
exceeds  the  length  of  half  an  hich.  Its  free  portion 
is  called  the  glans  clitoridis ;  its  internal  structure 
is  similar  to  that  of  the  corpora  cavernosa  penis, 
and,  like  the  latter,  also,  it  is  an  erectile  tissue, 
acted  upon  by  a  small  muscle,  the  erector  clitoridis. 
These  muscular  fibres  arise  from  the  rami  of  the 
pubis  and  ischium,  pass  on  the  under  surface  of  the 
clitoris,  and  terminate  at  its  apex. 

The  orifice  of  the  urethra  is  within  the  vulva, 
about  an  inch  behind  the  clitoris,  and  directly  above 
the  vagina,  where  its  position  is  marked  by  a  small 
tubercle. 

The  orifce  of  the  vagina  is  an  elleptical  opening 
below  or  behind  the  meatus  urinarious,  having  a 
thickened  margin,  and  being  founded  laterly  by  the 
nymphsg.  It  is  usually  more  or  less  closed  by  a 
duplication  of  mucous  membrane,  the  hymen,  which 
exists  sometimes  as  a  perforated  septum,  and  some- 
times as  a  semilunar  fold.  It  is  more  rarely  imper- 
forate; in  other  circumstances,  it  has  two  or  more 
orifices,  and  again  it  is  represented  by  a  partial, 
fringed  margin,  or  may  be  congenitally  deficient. 
Its  rupture  leaves  an  irregular  edge,  with  thickened 
cicatrices,  known  as  the  carunculae  myrtiformes. 

The  vestibulum  is  the  triangular  surface  between 
the  clitoris  before,  and  the  vagina  behind ;  the 
urethra  opens  into  it,  and  it  is  bounded  latterly  by 
the  labia  interna. 


PLATE  6. 


Fiq  7 


59 

(f ^jjliniatiaii  0f  glnte. 

Fig.  7,  Represents  the  vagina  laid  open  by  a  longitu- 
dinal section,  with  the  uterus  and  its  appendages  in  situo. — 

1,  Orifice  of  the  vagina  with  the  carunculae  myrtiformes ; 

2,  Body  of  the  uterus  ;  3,  3,  Broad  ligaments ;  4,  4,  Round 
ligaments  ;  5,  5,  Fallopian  tubes  ;  6,  6,  Their  fimbriated 
termination  ;  7,  7,  Ovaries  ;  8,  Os  tincae.  Fig.  8,  Diagram 
of  a  section  of  the  unimpregnated  graafian  vesicle  and  its 
contents,  showing  the  situation  of  the  ovum. — 1,  Mem- 
brana  granulosa ;  2,  Proligerous  disk  ;  3,  Ovum  ;  4,  Inner 
and  outer  layers  of  the  wall  of  the  graafian  vesicle  ;  9.  In- 
dusium  of  the  ovary,  derived  from  the  peritoneum. 

Fig.  10,  The  unimpre^fnated  ovum  surrounded  by  ita 
proligerous  disk,  magnified  about  fifteen  diameters.  Fig. 
11,  A  section  of  an  unimpregnated  ovum,  representing  the 
thick  external  envelopes,  connected  with  the  inner  surface 
of  the  latter,  the  germinal  vesicle.  Fig.  12,  Represents, 
within  a  sqare  area,  the  unimpregnated  human  germinal 
vesicle  magnified  forty-five  diameters.  On  one  side  of  it  is 
seen  the  germinal  spot.  Fig.  13,  Is  a  corpus  luteum,  taken 
from  a  female  who  destroyed  herself  by  drowning,  eight 
days  after  impregnation. — 1,  Mucous  tunic  of  the  graafian 
vesicle  sprouting  from  the  circumference  toward  the  cen- 
tre ;  2,  External  tunic  of  the  vesicle ;  3,  Ovarian  stroma ; 
4,  Ovarian  membrane  ;  5,  Point  at  which  the  ovulum 
escaped  from  the  graafian  follicle. 

Fig  14.  Represents  the  interior  of  the  uterus,  with  the 
germ  in  progress  of  formation. — 1,  1,1,  shows  them  much 
enlarged;  the  matter  which  is  to  become  the  mernbrana 
decidua,  is  seen  deposited  between  and  upon  their  sur- 
face ;  2,2,3,3,  Uterine  arteries  extending  into  the  decidua 
and  there  forming  loops. 


^mmil  ©teerliatiaus  011  llemarkatjle  dims. 


Seminal  debility — involuntary  loss  of  semen — 
will  cause  the  following  complications,  in  seven- 
eights  of  the  afBlicted,  when  it,  or  the  practice  of 
self-abuse,  has  existed  for  two  or  three  years. 

These  extracts  are  from  letters  of  patients,  de- 
scribing their  symptoms,  when  they  applied  to 
us  for  treatment,  and  all  of  whom  we  are  hap- 
py to  say,  we  have  since  cured,  though  some  of 
them  were  under  our  care  a  year,  before  we 
would  consent  to  its  discontinuance.  We  relieved 
nearly  all  of  such  patients,  however,  of  the  pain- 
ful and  troublesome  symptoms  in  a  very  few 
days.  Patients  with  diseases  of  this  nature,  will 
experience  a  relapse  if  the  treatment  is  not  per- 
severed in  for  a  considerable  time  after  they  have 
been  cured.  We  therefore  take  this  occasion  to 
warn  them  from  doing  so,  till  informed  by  us 
their  cure  is  permanent,  as  the  disease  is  much 
more  obstinate  after  such  relapse. 

As  all  of  our  communications  are  strictly  pri 
vate  and  confidential,  we,  of  course,  neither  at 
tach,  nor  copy  the  addresses,  but  if  any  persons— 
who  may  wish  us  to  cure  them — doubt  their  gen- 
uineness, we  will  present  them  with  indubitable 
proofs,  upon  a  personal  visit.  All  patients  may 
place  implicit  confidence  in  the  strictest  secrecy 
being  kept  by  us,  as  we  never  divulge  the  name 
or  residence  of  any  patient,  upon  any  pretext 
whatever. 


THE    GENEKATIVE    ORGANS.  (i  1 


THE    VAGINA. 


The  vagina  is  a  canal  interposed  between  the 
uterus  and  the  vulva,  and  between  the  bladder  and 
the  rectum.  Its  length  is  from  four  to  six  inches;  it 
is  somewhat  dilated  near  the  uterus,  and  contracted 
at  its  commencement  in  the  vulva,  between  which 
points  it  curves  obliquely  forward  and  downward, 
being  flattened  transversely,  and  having  its  pnrietes 
in  close  apposition.  It  is  composed  of  three  laminse; 
thcexterual  one  is  a  fibrous  structure,  strong  and 
contractile,  and  much  resembling  the  dartos  of  the 
scrotum.  The  middle  layer  is  constituted  of  erectile 
tissue  enclosed  between  two  layers  of  fibrous  mem- 
brane :  it  commences  directly  within  the  vagina,  sur- 
rounds its  upper  half,  and  extends  about  an  inch 
backwards  in  the  direction  of  the  uterus,  its  thick- 
ness being  seldom  more  than  two  lines.  This  is 
the  corjius  spongiosum  vngince^  so  called  on  account 
of  its  resemblance  to  the  analogous  structure  in  the 
urethra.  It  is  also  called  the  plexus  retiforwAs,  and 
embraces  a  remarkable  congeries  of  veins. 

The  internal  membrane  belongs  to  the  mucus  class, 
it  is  furnished  with  laminae,  and  is  marked  by  trans- 
verse folds  or  ridges — the  rugaa  of  the  vagina — 
which,  however,  are  cliiefly  confined  to  its  anterior 
portion.  A  raphse,  or  longitudinal  slightly  elevated 
line  commences  on  the  anterior  parietes  of  the 
vagina  just  within  its  orifice,  and  extending  back  is 
lost  near  the  uterus,  and  a  nearly  similar  line  exists 
on  the  posterior  surface.  The  epithelial  covering 
of  the  mucus  membrane  is  remarkably  developed, 
and  presents  an  abundant  papillary  structure. 

The  glands  of  Duverney  resemble,  both  in  form 
and  function,  the  glands  of  Cowper  in  the   male. 


62  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

They  are  situated  on  either  side  of  the  orifice  of  tho 
vagina,  beneatli  the  sphincter  muscle  and  the  super- 
ficial porineal  fascia.  Tliey  are  from  half  an  inch 
to  an  inch  long,  narrow  and  flattened,  and  their 
excretory  duct  opens  in  front  of  the  carunculae 
myrtiformes. 

The  sphincter  vagina  muscle  has  been  already 
described.  It  embraces  the  orifice  of  the  vagina 
like  a  broad  ring,  and  covers  the  plexus  retiformis. 

THE    UTERUS. 

The  uterus  or  matrix  is  a  pyriform  body,  sus- 
pended in  the  pelvic  region  between  the  bladder 
before  and  rectum  behind.  It  varies  greatly  in 
size  ;  its  average  length  is  about  two  and  a  half 
inches,  its  breadth  across  the  upper  and  widest  part 
an  inch  and  a  half,  and  its  thickness  an  inch.  It 
is  divided  into  the  fundus,  or  that  part  above  the 
Fallopian  tubes  ;  the  cervfx  or  narrowed  portion 
below;  the  body,  which  is  intermediate  between 
the  fundus  and  cervix,  and  the  ostincai  or  opening 
into  the  vagina.  It  is  convex  behind  and  flattened 
in  front,  with  its  base  directed  upward  and  for- 
ward, and  its  neck  downward  and  backward. 

The  anterior  surface  of  the  uterus  has  a  peritonial 
covering  over  its  upper  half,  which  membrane  is 
reflected  from  it  to  the  bladder,  constituting  the 
anterior  ligament.  The  posterior  surface  is  entirely 
invested  by  the  peritoneum,  which  in  this  instance, 
is  reflected  upon  the  rectum,  so  as  to  form  a  pouch 
between,  and  is  called  the  posterior  ligament.  On 
the  sides  of  the  uterus,  the  anterior  and  posterioi 
laminae  of  peritoneum,  meet  in  a  longitudinal  median 
line,  and  on  them  reflected  from  it  to  form  the 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  63 

Iroad  ligaments.  These  ligaments  are  extended 
transversely  to  the  parietes  of  the  lesser  pelvis  on 
each  side,  and  thus  form  a  paritial  septum  in  its 
cavity,  and  transmit  between  tlieir  laminae,  the 
blood-vessels  and  nerve&,  the  uterus  and  ovaria. 

The  round  ligaments  are  given  off  on  each  side 
from  the  body  of  the  uterus  directly  beneath  the 
Fallopian  tubes,  whence  they  pass  upwards  and 
outwards  until  they  reach  the  internal  abdominal 
ring  •  they  then  run  through  the  abdominal  canal, 
come  out  at  the  external  ring,  and  are  inserted  into 
and  lost  upon  the  mons  veneris.  They  are  strong, 
fibrous  vascular  cords,  embraced  between  the  folds 
of  the  broad-ligaments  ;  and  they  are-  accompanied 
in  the  abdominal  canal  by  a  process  of  peritoneum, 
which  sometimes  extends  to  the  exit  of  the  liga- 
ment at  the  external  ring. 

The  cervix  uteri  projects  by  a  mammillated  ex- 
tremity into  the  vagina,  and  the  two  are  joined  at 
the  base  of  this  prominence.  The  cervix  has  a  cen- 
tral perforation, — the  os  tinea  of  an  oval  shape,  and 
placed  transversely.  It  is  bounded  in  front  by  a 
prominence  of  the  cervix,  called  the  anterior  lip, 
and  behind  by  a  similarly  formed  but  much  smaller 
projection — the  posterior  lip. 

The  cavity  of  the  uter^ts  is  triangular  with  an  ori- 
fice at  each  angle;  one  of  those  three  orifices  and 
much  the  largest,  is  continuous  with  the  canal  of 
the  cervix,  and  of  course  communicates  directly 
with  the  vagina,  and  is  called  the  internal  orifice  of 
the  uterus.  It  is  smaller  than  the  os  iincce;  but 
the  canal  between  those  openings  is  somewhat 
dilated,  flattened  from  front  to  back,  and  marked 
by  two  longitudinal  lines,  one  on  the  anterior,  the 
other  o'l  the  posterior   surface.     These  are  again 


G4  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

crossed  by  transverse  and  erratic  striae,  named 
from  their  branched  appearance  the  arhor  vitae, 
among  which  are  interspersed  some  small  mucous 
glands  and  follicles,  known  as  the  ovula  Nahothi 
They  are  not  confined  to  the  cervical  canal,  but  are 
also  found  in  the  cavity  of  the  body.  At  the 
angles  in  the  upper  part  of  that  cavity  are  two 
small  orifices,  one  on  each  side,  opening  into  the 
Fallopinn  tubes. 

Tiie  uterus  is  composed  of  three  very  dissimilar 
tissues,  an  exterior  serous  covering  derived  from 
the  peritoneum;  an  internal  mucus  membrane,  and 
between  these  the  proper  structure  of  the  organ. 

The  peritoneal  coat  has  been  already  noticed, 
together  with  the  manner  in  which  it  forms  several 
of  the  uterine  ligaments.  The  mucus  membrane  is 
a  continuation  of  that  which  lines  the  vagina  and 
is  continued  into  the  Fallopian  tubes.  It  can  only 
be  separated  in  patches  and  with  much  difiiculty; 
whence  its  existence  as  a  separate  membrane  has 
been  sometimes  denied. 

The  proper  tissue  of  the  uterus  is  of  a  greyish 
color,  of  an  almost  cartilaginous  hardness,  and  com- 
posed of  fibres,  respecting  which  a  great  diversity 
of  opinion  has  always  existed.  By  some  anatomists 
they  are  regarded  as  simple  fibrous  tissue;  by 
others,  as  muscular  structure;  and  by  others  as  a 
convertible  substance,  that  is  fibrous  in  the  unim- 
pregnated  state,  but  which,  during  pregnancy,  ac- 
quires the  character  of  muscular  fibre,  resembling 
that  of  the  viscera  of  organic  life,  and  like  it  en- 
dowed with  contractility.  Such  is  the  opinion  of 
Cruveilhier,  who  remarks,  that  the  great  influx  of 
blood  into  the  uterus  and  tlie  consequent  distension 
and  development  of  its  fibres  in  the  gravid  state, 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  05 

reveal  a  structure  which  was  before  concealed  by 
an  atrophy  consequent  to  inaction;  and  he  adds, 
tliat  this  view  is  confirmed  by  the  microsco}3ic  ob- 
servations of  Roederer,  the  chemical  experiments 
of  Schwelgue,  and  also  by  the  results  furnished  by 
comparative  anatomy,  which  has  shown  circular 
and  longitudinal  muscular  fibres  in  the  uteri  of  some 
animals  even  in  the  uuimpregnated  state. 

The  gravid  uterus,  however,  presents  two  layers 
of  fibres  which  have  the  structure  and  function  of 
true  muscle:  the  external  layer  is  formed  both  of 
longitudinal  and  oblique  fibres,  the  former  being 
chiefly  developed  on  the  anterior  and  posterior  sur- 
faces, and  upon  the  fundus;  the  oblique  fibres  are 
most  distinct  at  the  sides,  where  they  are  continued 
upon  the  Fallopian  tubes  and  the  round  ligaments. 
The  internal  layer  consists  of  circular  fibres,  with 
some  longitudinal  fibres  on  their  internal  surface; 
but  around  the  cervix  this  structure  becomes  annu- 
lar, the  fibres  decussating  at  various  angles.  The 
muscular  character  of  the  uterine  body,  in  preg- 
nancy, is  strongly  evidenced  by  its  powerful  con- 
tractions in  the  process  of  parturition. 

The  internal  substance  of  the  uterus  is  thus  com- 
posed of  a  mass  of  closely  interwoven  muscular  or 
fibro-muscular  fibres,  together  with  a  vast  congeries 
of  blood  vessels,  which  though  small  in  the  uuim- 
pregnated state,  acquire  a  surprisingly  augmented 
size  during  the  later  periods  of  pregnancy. 

The  arteries  of  the  uterus,  four  in  number,  are 
derived  from  two  sources:  two  from  the  hypogas- 
tric trunk,  forming  the  proper  uterine  arteries,  and 
two  from  the  ovarian  arteries,  of  which  branches 
are  also  distributed  to  the  ovaries  and  Fallopian 
tubes.     The  uterine  veins  are  of  great  size  during 


66  THE    AXATOMY    OF 

pregnancy,  and  are  tlicn  culled  the  vtcrive.  sin- 
uses. The  nerves  of  the  uterus  are  derived  in  part 
from  the  hypogastric,  in  part  from  the  renal 
plexus. 

THE    FALLOPIAN    TUBES. 


These  trumpet-shaped  canals  are  given  off  from 
the  superior  angles  of  the  uterus.  They  are  em- 
braced within  the  folds  of  the  broad  ligaments, 
being  undulated  in  their  course  and  variable  in 
their  diameter.  They  are  four  or  five  inches  in 
length,  and  extend  almost  to  the  sides  of  the  pehis. 
Their  diameter  at  the  uterine  orifice  will  only  admit 
a  bristle,  but  the  canal  at  its  external  or  free  ter- 
mination is  as  large  as  a  quill.  This  outer  end  is 
broken  into  a  triple  series  of  fringe-like  irregular 
processes  of  unequal  length,  constituting  the  Jim- 
briated  portion,  or  corpus  finehriatum,  in  the  centre 
of  which  is  seen  the  orifice  of  the  tube  called  the 
otium  abdominale.  One  of  the  processes  is  attached 
to  the  proximate  part  of  the  corresponding  ovary, 
by  which  means  these  structures  are  retained  in 
their  relative  position. 

The  tube  is  in  itself  a  strong  fibrous  cord  resem- 
bling the  tissue  of  the  unimpregnated  uterus,  and 
it  is  invested  by  the  peritoneum  by  being  i)laced 
between  the  duplication  of  this  membrane  that  forms 
the  broad  ligament.  The  internal  coat  is  mucus, 
analogous  to  that  which  lines  the  uterus,  and  re- 
markable for  presenting  a  gradual  transition  into 
the  peritonial  coat,  with  w^hich,  at  its  fimbriated 
orifice,  it  is  continuous  ;  in  other  words,  the  mucus 
terminates  in  a  serous  membrane,  and  thus  in  the 
two  openings  of  the  Fallopiau  tubes  exist  the  only 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  67 

two  normal  perforations  of  the  otherwise  perfect 
sac  of  the  peritoneum. 

The  use  of  the  Fallopian  tube  is  that  of  an 
oviduct.  It  receives  the  ovum  from  the  ovary  and 
transmits  it  to  the  uterus,  and  also  provides  it  with 
a  double  envelope — an  internal  one  of  a  gelatinous 
or  albuminous  nature,  and  an  external  one,  the 
chorion,  which  is  fibrous,  and  appears  to  be  pro- 
duced by  the  exudation  of  fibrine  from  the  lining 
membrane  of  the  tube. 

■ftE    OVARIES, 

These  bodies,  one  on  each  side,  are  placed  within 
a  duplication  of  the  broad  ligament,  and  behind  the 
Fallopian  tubes.  They  are  of  a  flattened  oval  form, 
reddish-white  color,  and  unequal  fissured  surface. 
They  are  retained  in  their  position  partly  by  the 
broad  ligament,  and  partly  by  an  ovarian  ligament, 
a  rounded  cord  that  connects  them  with  the  upper 
angles  of  the  uterus,  below  the  Fallopian  tube. 
The  ovaries  are  about  an  inch  in  length,  and  their 
distance  from  the  uterus  is  about  an  inch  and  a 
half.  They  have  an  external  investment  derived 
from  the  peritoneum ;  within  which,  and  closely 
adherent  to  it,  is  the  proper  fibrous  capsule,  strongly 
resembling  the  tunica  albuginea  of  the  male,  and, 
like  the  latter,  sending  prolongations  into  the  gland 
that  divides  it  into  irregular  compartments  resem- 
bling a  network  of  areolar  tissue.  Within  and 
lining  this  fibrous  capsule  is  a  vascular  membrane, 
analogous  to  the  tunica  vasculosa  in  man.  The 
fibrous  and  vascular  tissues  are  intimately  blended 
into  a  spongy  mass,  called  stroma,  in  the  midst  of 
which  are  the  Graafian  vesicles,  of  which  bodies 


C8  THE    ANATOMY    OF 

ten  or  fifteen  exist  in  a  mature  state  in  each  ovary, 
besides  a  vast  number  that  are  imperfectly  developed 
and  never  reach  the  perfect  state. 

The  Crraafian  vesicle,  or  ovisac,  consists  of  two 
layers,  of  which  the  outer  one  is  a  mere  vascuLir 
tliickeniiig  of  the  surrounding  ovarian  stroma ; 
while  the  internal  one,  which  is  the  true  ovisac,  is 
transparent,  and  has  no  obvious  structure.  Within 
it  is  placed  the  ovum,  the  latent  germ  of  the  future 
being,  betw^een  which  and  ovisac  is  a  granular  mat- 
ter, arranged  in  the  following  manner  :  a  series  of 
the  granules  surround  the  ovum  in  a  discoidal  form, 
and  assume  the  appearance  of  cells,  so  united  as  to 
form  a  sort  of  membrane,  which  is  called  by  Dr. 
Barry  the  tunica  granulosa,  by  others  the  proligerous 
disk.  The  granules  that  line  the  ovisac  within  are 
also  collected  in  a  membraniform  structure,  the  mem- 
hrana  granulosa.  These  two  parts  are  connected 
by  four  band-like  extensions  of  the  same  cellulo- 
membranous  structure,  which  seem  to  suspend  the 
ovum  in  its  place,  and  are  called  the  relinacula. 
The  space  between  the  membranes  which  is  not 
occupied  by  the  retinacula,  is  filled  with  fluid,  in 
which  few  or  no  cells  can  be  seen. 

The  corpus  luteum  is  a  yellowish,  spongy  tissue, 
granular,  friable  and  vascular,  having  a  small  cen- 
tral cavity  lined  by  a  dehcate  membrane.  It  is  the 
cicatrix  left  after  the  escape  of  the  ovum  from  the 
ovary,  and  consequently  varies  much  in  size  accord- 
ing to  the  time  which  has  elapsed  since  conception. 
At  first  it  is  large,  bean-shaped,  and  prominent,  so 
as  to  occupy  from  a  fourth  to  a  half  of  the  ovarium. 
But  after  parturition  it  diminishes  in  size,  and  in  a 
a  few  months  a  cicatrix  alone  remains,  and  even 
this  is  finally  effaced.     Whence  it   happens  that 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  69 

neither  the  corpora  lutea,  nor  their  remaining  cica- 
trices, are  certain  indications  of  the  number  of  chil- 
dren a  woman  may  have  borne.  Dr.  C.  D.  Meigs 
has  published  an  interesting  memoir  on  the  corpus 
luteum,  in  which  he  maintains  that  the  apparent 
structure,  form,  color,  odor,  coagulability  and  re- 
fractive power  of  this  body  are  similar  to  those  of 
the  yolk  of  the  egg-,  a  true  vitellary  matter  "de- 
posited outside  of  the  inner  concentric  spherule  or 
ovisac  of  the  Graafian  vesicle." 


FUNCTION    OF    THE    OVARIO-UTERINE    SYSTEM. 

The  result  of  successful  coition  between  the  two 
sexes  is  the  injection  of  a  certain  portion  of  the 
spermatic  fluid  into  the  vagina;  and  fecundation 
appears  to  consist  in  the  direct  communication  of 
the  male  spermatozoa  with  the  Graafian  vesicle  of 
the  ovarium,  through  the  fissure  of  the  zona  pellu- 
cida  to  the  contained  ovum,,  which  ruptures  and 
escapes  from  the  ovisac.  The  corresponding  Fallo- 
pian tube  simultaneously  embraces,  by  its  fimbriated 
extremity,  the  ovarian  surface,  and  receives  the 
detached  ovum  into  jts  canal,  while  the  ovisac  itself 
remains  as  the  lining  membrane  of  the  corpus 
luteum.  While  the  fecundated  ovum  is  yet  in  the 
Fallopian  tube  it  acquires  a  gelatinous  covering, 
the  amnion,  which  is  again  surrounded  by  a  mem- 
brane of  fibrous  texture,  called  the  chorion.  The 
amnion  secretes  a  fluid,  the  liquor  amnii,  in  which 
the  germ  is  suspended.  How  long  the  ovum  re- 
mains in  the  oviduct,  in  other  words,  what  time  it 
takes  in  its  transit  from  the  ovary  to  the  uterus  is 
not  certain,  but  appears  to  vary  from  eight  to  four- 
teen days.     The  first  action  of  the  uterus  is  the 


70  THH    I'llVSIOLOGY    OF 

secretion,  on  its  inner  surface,  of  a  delicate  cibriform 
membrane,  the  decidua,  wliich  is  composed  of  two 
layers,  the  decidua  vera,  that  lines  the  uterus,  and 
the  decidua  rejiexa,  that  covers  the  ovum.  Next 
forms  the  j)laccnta,  which  results  from  the  pene- 
tration of  the  vili  of  the  chorion  into  the  structure 
of  the  decidua  vera.  Its  fcctal  portion  is  derived 
from  the  umbilical  vessels,  which  diverge  in  every 
direction  from  the  point  at  which  they  enter  its 
substance;  or,  in  other  words,  it  is  generated  by 
the  extensions  of  the  vascular  tufts  of  the  chorion, 
formed  from  the  capillary  terminations  of  the  um- 
bilical arteries  and  veins.  The  maternal  portion  of 
tho  placenta  is  formed  by  the  enlargement  of  the 
decidual  uterine  vessels,  and  these  assume  the  char- 
acter of  sinuses,  against  which  the  fcetal  tufts  pro- 
ject so  as  to  form  out  of  it  a  sheath  for  themselves. 
The  blood  is  conveyed  into  the  maternal  placenta  by 
the  uterine  arteries,  and  is  returned  by  the  corres- 
ponding system  of  veins  ;  but  there  is  no  direct 
vasculftr  communication  between  the  two  placentae 

PUBERTY, 

The  period  of  puberty,  the  commencement  of 
that  part  of  life  which  is  distinguished  by  the  capa- 
bility of  propagating  the  species,  does  not  occur 
exactly  simultaneously  in  the  two  sexes;  and  still 
greater  variety  in  this  respect  is  caused  by  differ- 
ence of  nation  and  climate.  Puberty  declares  it- 
self in  the  female  sex  of  our  climate  about  the 
twelfth,  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  year,  sometimes 
later,  and  is  indicated  by  the  occurrence  of  men- 
struation. In  the  male  sex  puberty  begins  about 
the  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  or  sixteenth  year,  and  ifl 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  7l 

atte.uded  with  the  secretion  of  semen,  and  with  the 
occurrence  of  discharges  of  that  fluid.  In  hot  ch- 
mates  the  body  undergoes  the  changes  of  puberty 
earher  than  in  cold  cH mates.  It  is  stated  that  in 
the  hot  regions  of  Africa,  they  take  place  in  the 
female  sex  as  early  as  the  eighth  year,  and  during 
the  ninth,  in  Persia.  Young  Jewesses  are  said  to 
mensti-uate  earlier  than  other  females.  The  capa- 
bility of  reproduction  generally  ceases  in  the  female 
sex,  together  with  the  function  of  menstruation, 
between  the  forty-fifth  and  fiftieth  years.  The  du- 
ration of  the  reproductive  power  in  man  cannot  be 
so  exactly  defined  ;  in  general,  it  continues  longer 
than  in  woman,  and  not  unfrequently  very  old  men 
manifest  a  remarkable  degree  of  virile  power. 

The  changes  in  the  system  which  characterize  the 
period  of  puberty,  are  partly  local,  affecting  the  gene- 
rative organs,  and  partly  of  a  general  nature.  The 
local  changes  consist  in  the  growth  of  hair  on  the 
pubes  in  both  sexes  ;  in  the  menstruation  of  the  fe- 
male ;  in  the  copious  formation  of  semen,  and  occur- 
rence of  erection  in  the  male  ;  and  in  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  breasts  in  the  female  sex.  The  general 
changes  of  the  system  afltect  principally  the  respia- 
tory  and  vocal  apparatus,  the  entire  form  of  the 
body  and  the  physiognomy,  the  character  of  the 
mind,  and  the  feelings  relating  to  the  sexes.  The 
respiatory  organs  acquire  an  increase  of  volume  at 
the  age  of  puberty,  especially  in  the  male  sex  ;  and 
the  vocal  apparatus  undergoes  the  change  so  readily 
noticed  in  boys  of  sixteen  to  eighteen,  the  shrill, 
squeaking,  broken  and  ultimately  the  deep-toned 
mascuhne  voice.  The  whole  body  attains  its  most 
perfect  form  ;  while  the  features  receive  their  stamp 
of  individuality,  and  present  signs  serving  to  express 


72  THE    rnVSIOLOGY    OF 

the  passions,  though  they  are  not  as  strongly 
marked  as  in  many  adults.  Boyish  indifference  is 
changed  to  the  most  marked  attention  to  the  oppo- 
site sex.  Sexual  ideas  arise  instinctively  and  ob- 
scurely in  the  mind,  and  set  in  action  the  creative 
power  of  the  imagination,  but,  at  the  same  time 
by  their  influence  on  the  whole  mind,  call  into  play 
the  noblest  mental  faculties,  so  as  to  elevate  and 
adorn  the  feeling  of  love. 

MENSTRUATION. 

Menstruation  is  the  periodical  discharge  from 
the  female  generative  organs  of  a  bloody  fluid 
poured  out  by  the  inner  surface  of  the  uterus.  The 
first  discharge  is  usually  preceded  and  accompanied 
by  some  symptoms  of  general  disturbance  of  the 
system,  namely,  by  abdominal  congestion,  pain  in 
the  loins  and  a  sense  of  fatigue  in  the  lower  limbs. 
Its  periodical  return  is  also  attended  in  most 
women  by  unusual  symptoms,  which  vary  in  differ- 
ent persons.  The  menstrual  periods  occur  usually 
at  intervals  of  a  solar  mouth;  their  duration  being 
from  three  to  six  days.  In  some  women  the  inter- 
vals are  as  short  as  three  weeks,  or  even  less; 
while  in  others  they  are  longer  than  a  month. 
Aristotle  made  the  extraordinary  statement,  that 
menstruation  rarely  occurs  every  month;  but  in 
most  women  only  every  three  months.  This  is 
evidence  that  the  sage  philosopher  was  an  old 
bachelor,  and  studied  books  and  not  nature.  I 
miglit  as  well  add  here,  that  those  absurd  and  mis- 
chievous books  purporting  to  have  been  written  by 
Aristotle,  are  full  of  as  false  statements,  silly  direc- 
tions, and  are  blind  leaders  of  the  blind. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  to 

Menstruation  does  not  usually  occur  in  pregnant 
women,  nor  in  most  cases  in  those  who  are  suckling. 
In  rare  instances,  however,  it  continues  during  the 
period  of  suckling,  and  even  during  pregnancy. 

The  sun,  moon,  stars,  nor  even  the  migratory 
comet,  do  not  exert  an  influence  over  this  function, 
for  upon  every  day  in  the  month  different  females 
have  their  catamenia.  It  is  now  well  known  that 
the  menstrual  periods  tend  to  regulate  and  moderate 
sexual  indulgence.  This  wall  be  more  fully  ex- 
plained under  the  head  of  Concejpiion. 

SEXUAL   INTERCOURSE. 

All  the  phenomina  connected  with  the  sexes 
which  animals  present,  are  dependant  on  the  forma- 
tive generative  organs  ;  the  ovaries  and  testes,  and 
on  the  influence  which  they  exert  on  the  rest  of 
the  organism.  Xot  merely  does  castration  during 
youth,  for  the  most  part,  prevent  the  development 
of  the  sexual  feelings  and  emotions,  but  even  when 
performed  at  adult  age,  that  operation  destroys 
almost  entirely  the  sexual  excitability.  This  is 
also  the  case  with  animals,  in  which  common  obser- 
vation detects  its  effects. 

The  almost  entire  physical  change  which  occurs 
in  animals  after  this  operation  is  readily  suggestive 
of  its  controlling  influence  over  the  body  as  well  as 
over  the  mind  of  men  and  animals. 

In  both  sexes  the  act  of  coition  is  attended  with 
pleasurable  sensations,  but  their  respective  share  in 
the  act  itself  is  very  different.  In  the  female  there 
is  but  a  partial  expenditure  of  the  nervous  power, 
when  she  fully  participates  in  the  sexual  act,  and 
none  scarcely  when  her  feelings  do  not  prompt  her 


74  TTIE    PJIVSIOLOGY    OP 

to  return  the  ardor  of  the  male;  neither  does  she 
expend  any  nervous  power  in  the  production  of 
erection;  no  energetic  rythmic  muscular  contrac- 
tions when  the  venereal  excitement  has  reached  its 
height,  and  no  emission  of  semen  ;  but  merely  an 
increased  secretion  from  the  vagina,  excited  by  the 
impressions  on  the  sensitive  nerves  of  the  female 
sexual  organs,  and  serving  to  lubricate  the  passage 
to  facilitate  sexual  commerce. 

Tlie  man  feels  exhausted  after  the  act;  the  woman 
simply  yields  herself  up  to  the  pleasureable  excite- 
ment. The  clitoris,  which  is  known  to  be  the  part 
most  susceptible  of  the  pleasurable  sensations  in 
in  females,  is  not  like  the  penis  of  the  male,  ren- 
dered by  friction  the  seat  of  intense  sensation  and 
nervous  excitement  during  coition,  and  hence  its 
excitability  is  found  not  to  be  wholly  exhausted 
after  the  act  is  completed. 

SEMEN. 

The  semen,  or  fecundating  matter,  contains  the 
property  which  gives  integrity  to  the  germ,  and  is 
capable  of  determining  the  particular  form  of  the 
new  animal  or  plant,  but  it  is  defective  and  cannot 
develop  that  form  until  it  has  united  with  the 
female  germ.  The  defects  of  the  ovum,  or  germ, 
and  of  the  semen,  are  not  the  same  in  nature,  for 
each  contains  that  part  in  which  the  otlier  is  defi- 
cient. The  ovum  and  semen  are  not  similar  halves 
of  one  whole.  The  ovum  of  animals  contains  the 
part  destined  to  germinate,  and  is,  in  fact,  the 
primary  particle  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  new 
organism,  and  maintains  uniterrupted  the  chain  of 
organization.     The   semen,  on   the  contrary,  does 


THE   GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  75 

not  itself  germinate,  but  is  a  fluid  excitor  of  ger- 
mination, endowed  with  the  power  of  determining 
the  form,  not  only  of  the  species,  but  of  the  indi- 
vidual organism  which  produced  it. 

COXCEPnON. 

Pregnancy  may  occur  at  any  period  after  men- 
struation has  been  established,  and  until  the  cessa- 
tion of  that  function. 

That  conception  occurs  more  readily  immediately 
after  the  menstrual  periods,  is  a  remarkable  fact ; 
but  that  it  will  not  take  place  after  eight  or  twelve 
days  from  that  period,  as  stated  in  some  books, 
written  to  misguide,  or  from  ignorance,  is  absurd 
and  untrue. 

The  catamenial  function,  is  nature's  guarantee 
that  the  females  in  whom  it  exists,  are  capable  of 
conceiving  and  bearing  offspring. 

The  conditions  necessary  to  the  consummation  of 
this  object  is,  that  the  semen  or  seed  from  the 
opposite  sex  should  enter  the  womb.  Quantity  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  success. 

The  grand  office  of  the  semen  is  to  awaken  the 
life  which  previously  exists  in  the  animulculae  in  tlie 
ovaries  of  the  female,  and  constitute  (so  to  speak) 
the  characteristic  principles  of  vitality  of  both  into 
cue  individual  embryo. 

To  effect  successful  commerce  between  the  sexes 
nature  has  arranged  the  organs  of  generation  to  a 
perfect  adaptation,  and  impressed  all  animals  with 
the  desire  to  cohabit.  The  rewai-d  of  obedience  to 
these  natural  laws  are  perfect  physical  happiness 
and  the  procreation  of  the  species. 

In   man  and   mammalia  fecundation  is  the  result 


16  THE    PHYSIOLOGY    OF 

of  the  successful  union  of  the  sexes,  in  which  the 
semen  of  the  male  enters  the  womb,  traverses  the 
Fallopian  tubes  to  the  ovum,  and  then  comes  into 
direct  contact,  in  order  that  the  function  of  impreg- 
nation be  matured. 

This  has  been  proved  beyond  the  possibility  of 
a  doubt,  by  direct  experiments  upon  numerous 
animals  with  uniformly  the  same  result. 

It  has  been  frequently  observed  that  men  whose 
copulative  organs  are  very  short,  or  those  in  whom 
the  malformation  consists  of  the  opening-  or  mouth 
of  the  penis  terminating  any  considerable  distance 
from  the  end  of  the  organ,  are  rendered  impotent; 
from  the  fact  simply  that  the  condition  of  the  penis 
prevents  the  semen  from  being  thrown  directly  into 
the  womb- 

PASSAGE    OF   THE    OVUM    INTO    THE    WOMB. 

The  human  ovum  reaches  the  uterus  in  from  one 
to  two  weeks  after  impregnation.  The  embryo  is 
enclosed  in  a  membraneous  sac  which  nature  has 
formed  for  nourishing  and  protecting  it.  When 
the  blood  vessels  of  the  embryo  have  reached  its 
surrounding  membranes  which  have  been  developed 
from  cells,  and  participate  in  the  active  properties 
of  cells,  it  absorbs  the  nutriment.  The  nutritive 
matters  thus  absorbed  are  supplied  by  the  blood 
of  the  mother  in  the  human  placenta.  The  ab- 
sorbed nutriment  enters  directly  into  the  blood  of 
the  foetus.  The  process  thus  maintained  between 
the  foetal  and  maternal  blood,  supplies  the  process 
of  respiration  to  the  foetus,  or  an  equivalent  for 
that  process. 


PLATE   7. 


i;eplanaton  0f  |Ia(c  7  antr  |iguas  15  ani  IS* 

Fig.  15. — Represents  a  foetus  of  two  months'  gestation 
(growth),  surrounded  by  its  uterine  membranes,  attached 
by  the  umbilical  cord  to  the  placenta  (after-birth),  and 
floating  in  fluid  (amnial),  and  is  the  most  perfect  one  of 
this  period  I  have  ever  seen  ;  (a)  the  pellucid  membranes, 
(b)  the  accumulation  of  vessels  forming  the  placenta  ;  (c) 
the  embryo  seen  through  the  membranes. 

Fig.  16. — Displays  a  fcEtus  of  five  months  within  the 
womb,  which  has  been  laid  open  ;  blood  vessels  are  seen 
running  through  the  various  textures,  and  the  cord  is  seen 
twisted  around  the  neck  and  left  ancle.  Below  is  seen  the 
postern  surAice  of  the  vagina,  and  on  each  side  of  the  womb 
is  seen  the  fallopian  tubes  terminating  in  many  finger-like 
projections,  and  between  them  and  the  womb  the  ovaries. 

EEMARABLE    CURES. 

June,  1858. 
Sir  : — As  we  have  arranged  the  fee  for  my 
cure,  now  for  the  desired  explanation.  Without 
having  heard  of  Masturbation,  or  its  conse- 
quences, and  wholly  unsuspicious  of  them,  I  did 
indulge  to  some  extent  in  it.  I  should  judge  be- 
tween 14  and  17  years  old.  I  am  now  55,  It  is 
quite  likely  to  excess  for  some  part  of  the  time, 
for  at  first  I  thought  no  evil  in  connection  with 
it,  but  as  I  grew  older,  I  knew  better  and  aban- 
doned the  habit.  The  result  of  this  involuntary 
loss  of  semen  continuing,  was  to  produce  a 
state  of  atony  for  some  jesivs — an  almost  total 
loss  of  virile  power, — though  from  the  age  of  30 
I  have  been  able  to  partially  cohabit  at  times, 
when  under  the  treatment  of  some  of  the  best 
l^hysicians.  The  urethra  has  been  sore  ever 
since  that  period.  This  sub-inflammation  (I  sup- 
pose) now  exists.  It  is  for  you  now  to  infer  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  functional  derangements 
I  labor  under.      Their  indications  at  present  are 


80  REMARKABLE    CURES. 

a  loss  of  virile  poiver ,  a  weak  flow  of  urine  gentT- 
ally  breaking'  to  pieces  as  it  falls' occasional  pains 
within  the  rectum,  and  a  sore  feeling  in  voiding 
urine.  I  have  thought  at  times,  that  sexual 
commerce  abated  the  seeming  soreness  of  the 
parts.  The  feces  when  costive,  are  covered  with 
blood  and  matter  on  one  side,  pain  in  mictura- 
tion  sometimes,  and  a  few  drops  of  creamy  look- 
ing matter  will  follow  the  urine.  I  am  very  often 
obliged  to  get  up  in  the  night  to  pass  urine  ;  some- 
times very  restless,  and  unable  to  sleep  ;  linen  dis- 
colored, and  sometimes  I  have  a  yellow  discharge 
from  the  urethra,  and  in  the  morning  shredy  sub- 
stances pass  with  the  urine.  I  have  a  pain  at  night 
in  the  rectum,  which  will  last  for  hours,  and  be  so 
severe  as  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  urine." 

This  case  presents  nearly  the  same  complica- 
tion and  symptoms,  as  almost  every  patient  suf- 
fers with,  whose  disease  has  existed  for  any 
great  length  of  time.  Many  young  patients  even 
at  this  writing  though  they  have  nearly  all  such 
symptoms,  have  not  attained  the  20th  year.  Out 
of  the  number  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pa- 
tients of  this  class,  under  our  care  and  treatment 
at  one  and  the  same  time,  more  than  one  hundred 
of  them  applied  tons  witli  these  seminal  diseases, 
complicated  with  severe  and  dangerous  affections 
of  the  urethra,  testicles,  bladder,  and  kidneys. 
Nearly  all  of  them  are  laboring  under  indiges- 
tion and  costiveness,  and  their  nervous  system  so 
affected  as  to  be  partially  or  totally  unfit  for 
study  or  business.  The  affection  of  the  bladder 
and  kidneys  is  a  most  distressing  and  dangerous 
complication,  as  any  physician  will  inform  you. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGAXS.  81 

DEVELOPEMEXT    OF    THE    FCETUS. 

Within  seven  days  after  successful  copulation  and 
conception,  the  ovum  (female  germ)  envelopes  itself 
in  membranes  and  passes  into  the  womb  through  the 
Fallopian  tube.  The  womb  has  also  generated  mem- 
branes within  its  cavity  for  the  reception  and  nourish- 
ment of  the  embryo. 

The  membranes  enclosing  the  embryo,  secrete  a 
watery  fluid  in  which  it  floats,  protected  by  this  means 
from  uterine  pressure  and  injury,  or  destruction  from 
concussion  or  jars  of  the  body  of  the  mother. 

So  small  and  delicate  are  the  embryonic  structures 
that  at  the  commencement  of  the  second  month  of 
gestation,  the  length  is  only  from  a  few  lines  to  half 
an  inch. 

The  extremities  are  leaf-like  appendages  and  just 
visible.  Then  the  mouth  also  exists,  soon  after  the 
anus  is  seen  ;  the  last  bone  of  the  spine,  (the  coccyx) 
is  very  large  and  the  first  bone  formed.  The  head 
acquires  a  considerable  size  ;  the  eyes  advance  for- 
ward from  being  lateral,  to  their  natural  anterion 
position,  and  the  nasal  cavities  are  soon  apparent. 
During  the  second  month,  the  umbihcal  cord  is  envel- 
oped i%its  sheath,  and'  the  intestines  are  discernable. 
About  the  end  of  the  second  month,  the  bones  and 
muscles  begin  to  form  ;  the  heart  is  covered,  and  the 
great  arteries  assume  their  permanant  position.  The 
glandular  organs,  the  lungs  and  liver  exist ;  then  ap- 
pear rudimentary  kidneys  and  the  testes  (Testicles)  or 
ovaries.  The  external  organs  of  genera  tion  make 
their  appearance  in  the  shape  of  wart-hke  prominence  ; 
the  bladder  soon  after  makes  its  appearance. 

Up  to  this  period  the  mouth  and  nasal  cavities  are 
not  separated  ;  the  eye-lids  and  external  ear  are  now 


82  THE    I'lIYSIOLOfiY    OF 

apparent,  and  the  extremities  are  more  distinct,  tbt 
fing-ers  and  toes  are  marked  by  separation.  At  this 
period  of  developemeiat  the  embryo  is  about  an  inch 
lonf^. 

In  the  course  of  the  third  month  the  foetus  acquires 
about  three  inches  in  length  and  proportionate  comple- 
tion of  developement.  In  the  fourth  montli  the  sex 
is  perceptible,  and  it  has  ol)tained  four  inches  in  length, 
and  in  the  fifth  twelve  inches  ;  at  this  period  begins 
the  formation  of  the  fat  and  nails,  and  signs  of  foetal 
life  are  perceptible  to  the  mother.  The  foetus  born  at 
the  sixth  month  of  gestation  often  breathes  but  does 
not  live.  During  the  seventh  month  the  foetus  has 
acquired  about  sixteen  inches,  and  if  born  may  Uve. 
The  skin  is  red.  In  the  eighth  lunar  month  the  eye- 
lids become  free,  and  the  testes  descend  from  the  belly 
to  the  serotun.  In  the  ninth  month  the  hair  appears 
on  the  head  and  the  embryo  measures  about  seventeen 
inches  ;  at  the  lower  part  of  which  it  increases  in  size, 
so  that  in  the  tenth  lunar  month  it  measures  about 
twenty  inches,  and  weighs  from  six  to  twelve  pounds 

The  weight  of  infants  at  birth  vary  very  much,  but 
the  first  child  a  mother  weans  is  generally  smaller  than 
those  born  subsequently-;  and  males  weigh  more  than 
females,  being  a  trifle  larger  also.  I  have  myself  seen 
a  child  live  a  few  days,  which  weighed  three  and  a 
half  pounds.  The  elder  Dr.  Ramsbotham  confined  a 
woman  who  was  delivered  of  a  child  weighing  sixteen 
and  a  half  pounds,  and  Mr.  O.  D.  Owens  assisted  in 
the  delivery  of  a  child  weighing  seventeen  pounds 
twelve  ounces,  measuring  twenty-four  inches  in  length. 
This  was  the  largest  child  ever  delivered,  which  is  on 
record. 

Birth  occurs  at  the  end  of  nine  months. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  83 

STERILITY,    CAUSES    AXD    CURE. 

The  principal  end  of  man's  earthly  existence  is 
offspring.  However  widely  opposed  their  general 
natures  may  be,  all  are  united  in  the  desire  which 
finds  its  accomplishment  in  the  reproduction  of 
their  kind.  I  say  all,  for  I  do  not  hesitate  to  as- 
sert without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  no  man  and 
wife  ever  had  their  affections  perfected  or  devel- 
oped who  were  deprived  of  legitimate  offspring. 
It  rs  one  of  the  first  duties  of  the  human  race  to 
increa'se  and  multiply,  and  the  man  who  leaves  the 
world  without  having  obeyed  the  injunction,  can 
scarcely  be  said  to  have  fulfilled  the  great  end  of 
his  existence.  All  men  who  are  not  of  monstrous 
conformation,  or  who  have  not  been  seriously  in- 
jured by  artificial  means,  are  equal  to  the  task  of 
reproduction;  indeed,  without  the  parts  and  means 
necessary  to  reproduction,  he  could  scarcely  exist 
at  all,  and  would  be  no  more  a  human  being  than 
if  he  were  deficient  of  heart  or  brains.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  barrenness  in  natural  women,  and  the 
causes  which  are  supposed  to  render  women  so,  can, 
in  ninety  cases  out  of  a  hundred  be  removed. 

It  is  not  denied,  however,  that  a  great  many 
married  persons  are  unblessed  with  offspring,  whose 
exertions  are  undoubted,  and  who  w^ould  give 
much  if  it  were  otherwise.  The  causes  of  unfruit- 
ful marriages  are  numerous.  One  is,  their  unfit- 
ness in  consequence  of  malformation,  besides  Fluor 
Albus,  (generally  termed  whites,)  Leucorrhoea, 
Prolapsus  Uteri,  (falling  of  the  womb,)  Chronic 
Gonorrhcea,  or  Gleet,  extreme  indulgence,  and  a 
very  vitiated  state  of  the  system  of  either,  or  both 
man  and  wife,  from  Scrofula.     The  obliteration  of 


Si 


THE    DISEASES    OF 


the  vaginal  canal,  or  absence  of  tlie  ovaries  or 
uterine  tube  in  the  female,  also  are  causes;  but 
these  arc  rare  occurrences.  My  opinion  is,  that 
but  very  few  females  are  of  necessity  barren 
Young  married  persons  almost  invariably  become 
physically  adapted  to  each  other,  though  it  occa- 
sionally happens  that  a  couple  will  have  no  off- 
spring, and  yet  being  divorced,  will  form  other 
connections,  and  both  will  have  children.  It  was 
so  with  Bonaparte  and  Josephine,  A  French 
writer  says,  that  good  authority  reports  the  em- 
peror as  having  used  various  tinctures,  borax, 
marjorura,  etc.,  of  course  to  no  efiect.  There  is 
sometimes  too  much  ardor  in  persons  of  full  habits 
and  amorous  propensities;  their  intensity,  however, 
is  generally  qualified  by  time.  This  is  well  exem- 
plified in  newly  married  couples,  as  the  first  year 
of  their  marriage  is  generally  unfruitful  from  their 
too  frequent  amorous  embraces,  thereby  preventing 
the  semen  from  attaining  a  healthy  state.  Moder- 
ation may  be  produced  by  a  light  vegetable  diet, 
cooling  medicine,  and  occasional  sea-shore  trips. 
Conjugal  enjoyment  on  the  part  of  the  female 
should  be  followed  by  repose,  as  but  very  little 
motion  or  agitation  in  persons  of  warm  tempera- 
ments is  sometimes  sujBQcient  to  prevent  the  ovulum 
from  reaching  its  proper  location.  A  female  desir- 
ous of  conceiving,  must  not  cohabit  too  often,  for 
the  first  month  after  her  supposed  conception,  as 
the  spasmodic  agitation  consequent  on  the  embrace 
of  a  very  amorous  conple,  is  calculated  to  disturb 
the  embryo  in  its  earlier  state  of  existence,  and 
hence  occasion  abortion  or  miscarriage. 

Baillie,  Swaumerdaur,  Larry,  Dubois,  and  others, 
Bay,  that  the   great  leading  cause  of  sterility  is 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGAXS.  85 

weakness  or  debility  on  tlie  part  of  the  male  or 
female,  or  both;  and  Dubois  says,  if  this  matter 
was  duly  attended  to,  nine-tenths  of  the  people  who 
are  now  pining  for  heirs  might  be  blessed  with 
numerous  progenies. 

Libertinism,  and  that  horrid  and  loathsome  prac- 
tice of  self -abuse,  or  masturbation,  are  the  principal 
causes,  and  I  have,  therefore,  treated  upon  them 
largely  in  another  part  of  this  work.  Among  the 
less  numerous  causes,  are  dancing  immoderately,  and 
tight-lacing,  as  the  pressure  causes  a  weakness  and 
lassitude  of  the  system.  Stimulating  drugs,  etc., 
such  as  Cautharides,  tincture  of  lyttae,  essence  of 
marjorum,  arrow-root,  syrup  of  pine-apples  and 
port-wine,  mushrooms  roasted  and  steeped  in  salad 
oil,  or  borax,  are  worse  than  useless,  for  many  of 
them  actually  injure  the  person,  as  my  large  prac- 
tice for  many  years  too  well  prove.  General  phy- 
sicians often  administer  such  remedies,  when  they 
ought  to  know  they  will  prove  injurious;  and  if 
they  do  not,  they  are  equally  at  fault;  but  those 
who  should  be  eternally  cursed  are  the  unprin- 
cipled quacks,  who  palm  off  their  injurious  and 
nauseating  stuff  for  money,  regardless  of  the  lasting 
injury  to  those  who  arc  unfortunate  enough  to  use 
them.  Yet  some  of  these  remedies  sold  for  the 
cure  of  sterility,  impotency,  weakness  or  debilita- 
tion, diurnal  and  nocturnal  emissions,  or  loss  of 
semen — with  the  consequent  impoverishment  of  the 
whole  system — are  actually  recommended  by  phy- 
sicians, either  from  ignorance  or  self-interest.  I 
cure  physicians  every  month  of  such  diseases,  which 
is  the  best  proof  possible  to  obtain,  of  their  total 
ignorance  of  the  causes,  and  proper  treatment  of 
Buch  cases. 


86  PREVCXTION    OF    OFFSPRING. 

Some  authors  think  there  are  fertilizing  virtues 
in  water-cresses,  duckweed,  carrots,  dandelions, 
artichokes,  figs,  potatoes,  shell-fish,  peaches,  hemp- 
seed,  eggs,  calves'-feet  jelly,  etc.  The  most  of  these 
are  incentives  to  amorous  propensities,  but  no 
farther.  Ludwig  says  the  females  of  some  countries 
swallow  spiders,  flies,  ants,  crickets,  and  even  frogs 
to  promote  fecundation. 

Morning  is  undoubtedly  the  most  auspicious  to 
generation.  When  a  female  with  a  low  womb  is 
married  to  a  masculine  man,  they  must  correct  the 
difficulty  by  means  that  may  seem  obvious,  or  they 
will  probably  have  no  offspring,  and  the  female 
suffer  agony  instead  of  pleasure.  If  the  semen  is 
placed  beyond  the  proper  location,  it  cannot  im- 
pregnate. When  the  case  is  directly  otherwise,  a 
proper  remedy  will  be  necessary  to  secure  it  from 
falling  short. 

It  is  a  popular  error  that  there  is  a  mode  by 
which  male  or  female  offspring  may  be  produced  at 
will.  It  is  of  no  consequence  whose  theory  of  the 
mysteries  of  reproduction  is  correct,  they  are  agreed 
on  certain  points,  which  shows  this  to  be  impossible. 
There  are  tolerably  conclusive  rules,  however,  for 
telling  the  sexes  of  children  before  they  are  born. 
Ladies  experience  more  sickness  with  boys  than 
with  girls,  which  may  be  caused  by  their  gen- 
erally being  larger  and  more  lively.  Their  appe- 
tites generally  vary,  such  as  food  that  is  hearty 
for  the  one,  and  of  a  different  kind  for  the  other. 
A  roundness  of  the  form  promises  a  boy;  whereas, 
when  the  tendency  is  nearly  all  to  the  front,  and 
the  hips  and  back  give  but  little  evidence  of  the 
lady's  situation,  the  great  probability  is  that  the 
little  stranger  is  a  girl.     When  a  pregnant  female 


PREVENTION    OF    OFFSPRING.  87 

is  prone  to  sickness  in  Ihc  morning; — 1-ongs  for 
food  of  an  invigorating  quality — and  carries  her 
increase  of  form  rather  all  round  her,  than  in  any 
particular  place,  the  chances  are  altogether  in 
favor  of  a  boy  ;  whereas,  if  her  symptoms  are 
otherwise,  and  as  described  above,  she  will,  in 
all  probability,  be  delivered  of  a  girl. 

PREVENTION    OF    OFFSPRING. 

While  all  must  admit  that  the  reproduction  of 
our  kind  is  the  evident  intention  of  the  sympathy 
of  the  sexes  for  each  other,  it  is  equally  certain  that 
there  are  numerous  cases  in  all  countries,  wherein 
such  a  consummation  were  better  avoided.  For 
example,  indigent  people  cannot  be  very  anxious 
for  numerous  offspring  to  rear  up  in  poverty;  very 
fruitful  females  must  find  it  very  unpleasant  to  be 
nearly  always  in  a  state  of  pregnancy,  nor  is  it  to 
be  supposed  that  married  persons  who  are  afflicted 
with  hereditary  diseases,  can  derive  happiness  from 
bringing  into  the  world  beings  whose  existence  may, 
in  all  probability,  be  a  burden  to  them. 

Many  females  are  so  constructed  as  only  to  bo 
able  to  give  life  to  others  at  the  sacrifice,  or,  at 
least,  the  risk  of  their  own.  This  consequence 
alone,  if  no  other,  should  prompt  the  physiologist, 
physician  and  philanthropist,  to  seek  some  remedy 
which  would  avert  such  awful  suffering.  Another 
reason,  people,  under  ail  circumstances,  whether 
they  are  poor  or  afflicted  with  diseases,  or  so  organ- 
ized, as  to  risk  life  in  reproduction,  will  get  married, 
hence,  anything  that  will  prevent  the  evil  com- 
plained of,  and  yet  allow  nature  her  full  rights, 
cannot  but  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  public. 


bo  PREVENTION    OF    OFFSl'RING. 

Other  medical  writers  have  treated  upon  this  subject, 
but  from  eit4ier  ignorance  or  delicacy,  have  not 
done  so  with  sufficient  fullness.  I  will  reiterate 
here,  v/hat  I  have  previously  stated — that  those 
physicians  who  say  that  conception  will  not  take 
place  from  the  tenth  or  twelfth  day  after  the  cessa- 
tion of  the  menses,  till  their  re-appearance,  assert 
what  they  ought  to  know  is  not  so,  as  many  of  my 
readers,  no  doijbt,  know  from  their  own  experience; 
again:  another  proof  of  the  absurdity  of  such  a 
pretended  discovery  is,  that  females  will  often  have 
their  regular  catamenial  flow,  for  months  after 
they  have  become  pregnant.  Any  exercise  that 
will  disturb  the  embryo  within  twenty- four  hours 
after  conception,  may  be  sufficient  to  prevent  off- 
spring. Dancing,  and  urinating  immediately  after, 
will  often  prevent.  Riding  a  trotting  horse,  or 
any  exercise,  that  will  agitate  the  ovum  before  it  is 
securely  located,  will  certainly  prevent.  If  these 
fail  but  once  in  five  years,  females  cannot  have 
large  families.  Among  the  other  anti-fecundating 
remedies,  are  strong  cathartics,  all  stimulating 
fluids,  victuals  that  will  promote  thirst,  bathing 
soon  after  coition,  terminating  the  conjugal  act 
before  it  reaches  its  ultimatum,  will  often  prevent 
it;  but,  as  I  have  stated  in  another  place,  pre- 
viously, such  a  practice  will  produce  seminal  dis- 
eases and  impotency  in  the  male  almost  before  they 
are  aware  of  it.  Prolonging  the  venereal  act  will 
also  cause  seminal  disease  and  impotency. 

A  fine  sponge,  of  an  inch  and  a  half  or  so  in 
diameter,"  fastened  by  a  silk  string  to  withdraw  it 
after  absorbing  the  generating  fluid,  is  ineffectu- 
al to  prevent  conception.  The  French  condams,  or 
coverings  worn  by  the  male,  are  not  only  effectual 


PREVEXTION    OF    OFFSPRING.  89 

\u  preventing  conception,  bnt  are  nsed  to  prevent 
contractinp:  venereal  diseast^s. 

Three  or  four  syringe-fulls  of  warm  water  energet- 
ically used  immediately  after  coition,  will  sometimes 
prevent  conception. 

Neither  the  various  medicines  nor  mechanical  appli- 
ances, which  are  advertised  as  harmless,  yet  effectual, 
can  be  relied  ivfion. 

As  neither  of  the  preceding  are  positive  and  cer- 
tain preventives  to  conception,  and  as  persons  inclu- 
ding physicians  from  all  parts  of  the  country  are 
applying  to  me  every  week  by  letter  or  in  person,  for 
a  sure  preventive  for  their  wives,  or  some  of  their 
female  patients,  who  cannot  give  birth  to  offspring 
without  losing  their  own  or  the  life  of  the  child,  I 
have  after  years  of  study,  research  and  experiment, 
attained  the  great  object  which  has  been  so  unavail- 
ingly  sought  for  heretofore,  that  is,  for  a  man  and  his 
wife  to  fully  enjoy  sexual  intercourse  according  to  the 
iaws  of  nature,  and  at  the  same  time  not  beget  off- 
spring, or  if  they  wish  any,  to  limit  the  number  accord- 
ing to  their  wishes  or  circumstances.  It  is  used  by 
the  wife  without  inconvenience,  and  so  secret  that  it 
cannot  be  known  by  the  husband,  and  will  last  until 
the  change  in  the  wife's  life,  at  about  her  fortieth 
year,  renders  its  further  use  unnecessary,  or  in  other 
words  for  a  lifetime. .  It  cannot  cause  the  male  or 
female  the  slightest  injury,  or  interfere  in  the  least 
with  the  fullest  sexual  enjoyment. 

I  have  previously  stated,  that  the  French  condoms 
will  prevent  conception,  but  the  objection  to  them  is, 
they  are  troublesome,  liable  to  be  torn  in  coition, 
prevent  the  full  sexual  enjoyment,  as  they  do  not  allow 


90  PREVENTION    OF    OFFSPRING. 

tliat  reciprocal  warmth  of  the  male  and  female  geni- 
tals which  is  necessary,  as  it  prevents  their  coniinf^  in 
contact  except  through  the  covering,  which  often 
cliafes  and  irritates  the  female  parts,  and  will  if  used 
for  any  great  number  of  times,  cause  seminal  weak- 
ness, debility  and  Impotency  in  tlie  male. 

Preventing  conception  and  producing  abortion  are 
very  different  from  each  other  ;  my  'plan  does  not 
allow  the  semen  to  enter  the  womb  at  all,  which  is 
the  only  possible  way  to  prevent  conception,  as  all  of 
your  family  Physicians  will  inform  you  if  asked.  If 
the  semen  enters  the  womb,  conception  takes  place, 
which  cannot  be  got  rid  of  without  an  abortion  being 
produced,  which  all  know  endangers  the  life  of  the 
female,  and  leaves  a  lasting  weakening  disorganization 
of  the  sexual  organs,  sooner  or  later  producing  con- 
sumption or  some  general  chronic  disease,  which  proves 
fatal  to  the  poor  unfortunate  ;  to  prevent  such  suffer- 
ing and  calamities  is  the  next  great  reason  why  I  have 
consented  to  announce  my  remedy,  as  it  must  be  plain 
to  every  one,  that  it  will  save  an  incalculable  amount 
of  suffering  and  crime,  for  from  all  the  statistical 
information  I  can  gain,  there  are  thonsands  of  abor- 
tions daily  produced  in  this  civilized,  but  wicked  world. 
T  am  sorry  to  say,  I  am  very  often  applied  to  by 
married  and  single  persons,  who  offer  me  large 
fees,  if  I  would  produce  abortion  for  them,  and  to 
save  myself  the  trouble  of  any  more  such  applica- 
tions, I  take  this  medium  of  announcing  to  the  world, 
that  I  never  have,  and  never  will  produce  an  abor 
tion  for  any  person,  however  large  a  fortune  they 
might  offur  me  for  doing  it. 

The  author  is  a  Physician  of  a  very  extensive 
practice,  and  contrary  to  popular  opinion,  has  the 
strongest    sympathies   for    suffering    humanity,,  and 


PREVEXTIOX    OF    OFFSI'RIXG.  91 

for  u  long  time  has  made  the  pliysiological  laws  per- 
taining to  the  re[)i-oductiou  of  our  species  and  it? 
attending  conditions,  a  subject  of  close  study. 
Tlie  nature  of  conception  and  the  mode  of  subsequent 
developement,  of  the  Foetus,  I  have  fully  illustrated 
and  explained  in  another  part  of  this  work.  As  I 
have  before  mentioned,  the  various  plans  which  have 
been  suggested  by  wise  men,  have  either  failed  to 
answer  the  purpose,  or  were  directly  opposed  to  the 
full  enjoyment  of,  or  physically  at  variance  with 
sexual  union.  Mankind  will  not  adopt  any  remedy 
that  will  debar  intercourse  or  interfere  with  the 
pleasure  which  nature  has  provided.  Nature  is  nature, 
and  all  must  admit,  that  it  will  not  submit  to  being 
too  much  circumscribed.  In  fact  you  may  as  well  try 
to  suppress  the  sense  of  hunger  and  thirst  by  abstain- 
ing from  food  and  drink,  as  to  attempt  to  appease  the 
equally  imperative  demands  of  sensual  desh'es  by  some 
other  method  than  the  natural  indulgence  of  the 
sexes.  The  apprehensions  of  accouchment,  and  the 
exhusting  effects  of  nursing,  to  many,  are  too  real. 
Many  a  fair  women  with  spirit  and  vigorous  health, 
will  in  a  few  years  after  becoming  mothers,  pine  away 
into  mere  skeletons,  with  enough  constant  suffering  to 
cause  a  hving  death. 

Many  married  people  of  ardent  natures  are  con- 
strained to  forego  the  pleasures  of  love,  or  else  see 
their  children  inevita])ly  afflicted  with  some  incurable 
hereditary  disease,  which  they  v.'ould  entail  upon  them. 

The  effectual  prevention  of  conception,  will  greatly 
reduce  the  fearful  crime  of  abortion,  infanticide,  and 
illegitimacy  in  many  respectable  families.  Family  dis- 
cords, jealousy,  and  suspicions  of  infidelity,  in  a  great 
measure  emanate  from  excessive  aptitude  of  conception, 
and  dread  of  the  dangers  of  confinement  on  the  part 


92  PREVENTION    OF    OFFSlTJNf:. 

of  the  female,  as  natures  demands  cannot  be  restrained 
When  the  husband  finds  that  his  dearest  rights  are 
invaded  or  denied  at  home,  (many,  very  many  such 
married  men,  I  cure  every  month  of  venereal  diseases,) 
he  too  often  for  the  preservation  of  domestic  peace, 
seeks  unlawful  pleasures  abroad,  his  appreciation  of 
home  endearments  diminishes,  and  his  wife's  suspicions 
of  infidelity  are  too  justly  aroused,  and  discord,  dis- 
content, and  very  often  a  total  rupture  of  the  mar- 
riage relations  ensue.    . " 

Many  persons  no  doubt,  will  charge  me  with 
encouraging  immorality  and  crime,  which  is  the  very 
reason  of  my  declining  heretofore,  to  offer  this  inven- 
tion to  the  public  ;  but  being  so  incessantly  importuned, 
and  satisfied  of  the  rectitude  of  my  motives,  flattered 
also,  with  the  firm  belief  that  on  calm  reflection,  this 
will  appear  insignificant,  and  tliat  I  will  be  more  than 
compensated  by  the  immense  amount  of  suffering  and 
crime  it  will  be  the  means  of  preventing  ;  I  present 
it  to  those  whose  welfare  requires  it.  It  certainly 
cannot  be  wrong  to  endeavor  to  legitimately  promote 
our  own  happiness,  or  that  of  the  common  good  of 
mankind.  Is  it  a  sin  to  preveot  offspring,  if  it  averts 
their  being  reared  to  swell  the  tide  of  ignorance, 
poverty,  had  moral  degredation,  that  finds  its  end  in 
the  prisons?  I  certainly  cannot  bring  myself  to 
think  so.  It  cannot  be  a  sin  to  preserve  the  health 
of  young  mothers,  thereby  saving  tliem  tlie  torture 
of  broken  constitutions,  and  an  early  grave  !  Cer- 
tainly, to  prevent  the  entailment  upon  our  innocent 
offspring  of  an  hereditary  and  incural)le  disease,  or 
insanity  cannot  be !  Those  most  interest(;d  may 
decide  these  interrogations  for  themselves. 

Those  who  wish  to  avail  themselves  of  our  services, 
will  remit  our  consultation  fee  of  five  dollars, 


PREVENTION    OF     OFFSPRING.  93 

giving  us  a  general  description  of  the  female, 
and  state  whether  she  is  suffering  with  a  falling 
of  the  womb,  whites  (discharge),  any  other  de- 
bility or  not. 

In  directing  letters  to  me,  the  number  of  my 
Post  Office  Box,  844  New  York  City,  is  all  the 
direction  that  is  necessary  to  write  on  the  en- 
velope, as  they  will  reach  mo  just  as  safe,  as  if  my 
name  was  superscribed  in  full.  N.  B. — All  let- 
ters containing  money,  should  be  registered. 

MANY  IMPORTANT  TRUTHS  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  HUMAN 
SYSTEM,  WITH  THE  BEST  MODE  OF  RETAINING 
SEXUAL   VIGOR,    TO    EXTREME    OLD    AGE. 

Coition. — Young  persons  often  irretrievably  injure 
themselves,  by  forcing  the  desire  for  coition.  Nature 
must  be  your  guide.  Sexual  commerce  must  not  be 
prolonged  or  a  fatal  weakness  may  be  the  result. 
The  virility  of  an  old  man  will  often  be  greatly 
increased  and  extended  by  marrying  a  young  robust 
female.  Young  children  should  not  be  allowed  to 
sleep  with  sickly  or  aged  persons  ;  this  advice  should 
be  strictly  followed  ;  for  we  have  too  many  diseased 
nurses  in  charge  of  our  children  imparting  disease  by 
the  breath,  or  teaching  them  pernicious  habits  which 
may  ruin  them  before  they  are  discovered.  Any  ex- 
cess in  youth  detracts  ten-fold  from  future  abihties 
in   old   age. 

Child-bearing. — The  usual  period  of  pregnancy  is 
nine  months,  though  instances  occasionally  occur  of 
its  continuing  ten  or  eleven  months,  and  on  the  con- 
trary, six  or  seven  mouths  only. 


94  niK  PHYSIOLOGY  of 

Fruitful  Months. — February,  March,  April 
and  May,  are  supposed  to  be  the  most  fruitful,  or 
in  other  words,  May,  June,  July  and  August,  are 
most  auspicious  for  conception. 

Twins.— Females  may  have  twins — the  ofifspring 
of  different  fathers.  Colored  and  white  children  at 
the  same  birth  have  proved  this.  In  fact,  the 
mothers  have  acknowledged  cohabiting  with  another 
person  on  the  same  day  besides  their  Imsbands. 

Color  of  Hair. — Fair,  or  red  haired  women 
are  more  ardent  in  their  affections,  and  generally 
more  fruitful. 

Miscarriages. — When  a. female  once  miscarries, 
she  will  be  always  liable  to  miscarry  when  the  same 
stage  of  pregnancy  again  occurs.  Particular  care 
should  be  taken  at  that  period,  by  all  females  that 
have  met  with  such  an  accident. 

The  Hymen. — The  existence  of  the  hymen  in 
women  is  no  certain  evidence  of  virginity;  and, 
vice  versa,  its  absence  is  no  proof  of  unchastity; 
though  as  a  general  rule,  if  virtuous,  it  is  found  at 
marriage.  Illness  and  various  accidents  will  rup- 
ture it. 

Epilepsy. — The  only  cure  for  uterine  epilepsy  is 
marriage. 

Violation. — Conception  will  take  place,  even 
when  a  female  is  violated  by  force. 

Hermaphrodites. — There  are  no  hermaphroditea, 


PLATE  8. 


1f![iWiniiiwiiii' 


-kV  1« 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  07 

all  mixed  appearances  which  have  been  supposed 
to  be  such  were  caused  by  malformation. 

Effects  of  Bad  Temper. — The  pregnant  female 
should  be  protected  from  irritation,  and  govern  her 
own  temper,  to  ensure  amiable  offspring. 

Signs  of  Pregnancy. — In  addition  to  the  usual 
known  signs  of  pregnane}^,  an  experienced  observer 
will  detect  a  glassy  appearance  of  the  eyes  in  the 
early  stage  of  pregnancy. 

Excesses — Total  Abstemiousness. — Refrain — as 
I  have  previously  stated  the  consequences — from 
youthful  excesses.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been 
maintained  that  total  abstemiousness  from  sexual 
intercourse,  would  invigorate  the  mind,  but  facts 
prove  otherwise.  It  is  better  to  comply  with 
nature  than  resist  her  altogether. 

Suckling,  etc. — A  debilitated  or  sickly  female 
should  not  suckle  her  infant.  Yet,  when  not  so,  its 
own  mother  is  its  best  nurse.  Bottled  porter  is 
strengthening  for  the  mother,  but  it  should  be  used 
sparingly.  If  the  mother  will  take  exercise  in  the 
open  air  regularly  while  pregnant,  it  will  benefit 
both  herself  and  the  child. 

A  FEW  WORDS  ON  THE  ChOICE  OF  A  PaRTNER. The 

female  should  be  from  three  to  ten  years  younger 
than  the  male.  If  you  are  tall,  choose  a  lady  at 
least  a  head  shorter  than  yourself.  If  you  are  of 
a  lively  disposition,  your  partner  should  be  the 
reverse.  A  corpulent  man  should  marry  a  spare 
women,  and  vice  versa.     A  person  of  a  dark  com- 


98  Tiii<:  PHYSIOLOGY  of' 

plexioii  sliould  be  united  with  one  that  is  light.  In 
a  word,  married  persons  should  almost  be  at  direct 
antipodes  to  each  other. 

1  think  it  is  directly  in  opposition  to  the  laws  of 
humanity  for  very  sickly  persons  to  get  married 
This  may  seem  a  cruel  interpretation,  but  I  think 
it  is  more  so,  for  patents  to  usher  helpless  infants  into 
the  world  to  lead  out  a  miserable  existence  from 
hereditary  diseases.  By  close  observation  for  a 
considerable  period  of  time,  I  find  that  in  those 
couples  where  the  age  of  the  male  is  greater  than 
the  female,  that  a  great  majority  of  the  children 
will  be  of  the  male  sex,  and  when  the  female  is  the 
elder,  they  are  of  the  female  sex.  Young  ladies 
and  gentlemen  sliould  test  the  correctness  of  this 
by  examining  into  the  cases  of  their  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances. As  they  undoubtedly  will  find  my 
researches  correct,  they  should  make  choice  of  a 
partner  in  accordance  with  theii'  future  anticipa- 
tions. 

The  most  conclusive  proof  in  favor  of  uniting 
opposites,  is  found  in  the  evil  consequences  attend- 
ing marriages  among  blood  relations.  In  such 
persons  there  is  generally  a  moral  and  physical 
resemblance,  which  is  certain  to  entail  sufifering  on 
their  offspring.  A  glance  at  the  degeneracy  of  the 
Royal  families  is  the  best  of  proofs  that  such  unions 
should  not  be  formed.  In  Spain  the  race  has 
1)ecome  puny,  sickly,  and  imbecile.  Scrofula — that 
most  offensive  of  hereditary  diseases — afflicts  all  the 
Bourbons,  and  the  reigning  families  of  Holland, 
Austria,  England,  and  most  royal  families.  It 
has  become  a  generally  known  fact,  that  Queen  Vic- 
toria has  had  a  running  ulcer  between  her  shoulders 
for  many  years.     It  is  with  man,  as  with  animals. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  99 

crossing  the  breed  improves  it.  A  writer  says  that 
the  Persians,  by  adopting  this  crossing  practice, 
have  nearly  obUterated  the  traces  of  their  Mongo- 
lian origin.  The  most  excruciating  deaths  of  females 
at  the  time  of  delivery  will  be  prevented,  if  persons 
will  follow  these  and  the  foregoing  directions  in 
forming  unions.  A  strong  robust  man  should  marry 
a  woman  with  wide  haunches,  then  the  delivery  of 
a  robust  child  will  be  safe.  A  female,  narrow 
through  the  haunches,  should  be  united  to  a  deli- 
cate, medium-sized  man.  A  woman  with  narrow 
haunches  always  suffers  extremely  in  giving  birth 
to  a  child.     A  small  one,  therefore,  will  lessen  it. 

A  modern  physiologist  truly  says  that  a  well- 
formed  woman  should  have  her  head,  shoulders  and 
chest  small  and  compact;  arms  and  limbs  relatively; 
her  haunches  apart ;  her  hips  elevated  ;  her  abdo- 
men large,  and  her  thighs  voluminous.  Hence,  she 
should  taper  from  the  centre  up  and  down.  Whereas, 
in  a  well-formed  man,  the  shoulders  are  more  prom- 
inent than  the  hips.  Great  hoUowness  of  the  back, 
the  pressing  of  the  thighs  against  each  other  in  walk- 
ing, and  the  elevation  of  one  hip  above  the  other, 
are  indications  of  the  malformation  of  the  pelvis. 

If  a  female  throws  her  feet  much  to  the  rear  in 
walking,  her  knees  are  inclined  inward.  A  woman 
that  marches,  rather  than  walks,  has  large  hips  and 
a  well-developed  pelvis.  If  she  moves  along  trip- 
pingly on  her  tip-toes,  a  large  calf  and  strong 
muscles  are  indicated.  The  foot  lifted  in  a  slovenly 
manner,  so  as  to  strike  the  heel  against  the  back 
of  the  dress,  is  a  sure  sign  of  a  small  calf  and 
narrow  pelvis.  A  heavy  walk,  when  there  is  but 
little  spring  on  the  toes,  gives  evidence  of  a  weak- 
ness of  limbs. 


100  THE    rilVSIOLOGY    OF 

A  man  or  woman  liaving  dark  eyes  and  a  cou- 
Bumptive  tendency,  should  choose  a  blue-eyed  part- 
ner. Confirmed  consumptive  persons  should  never 
marry.  In  partial  or  artificially  produced  con- 
sumptive cases,  marriage  is  often  very  beneficial. 

The  most  proper  age  for  men  to  marry  is  between 
twenty-one  and  thirty;  and  for  women,  between 
eighteen  and  twenty-five  years  of  age.  The  offspring 
of  very  early  marriages  is  generally  puny  or  con- 
sumptive: furthermore,  their  own  health  suffers,  and 
their  lives  are  shortened  very  materially.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  is  scarcely  any  freshness  in  the 
maiden  of  thirty;  while  the  matron  of  that  age,  if 
her  life  has  been  a  happy  one,  and  her  hymenial 
condition  of  not  more  than  ten  years  standing,  is 
scarcely  in  the  hey-day  of  her  charms.  It  is  a  vrell- 
known  fact  also,  that  bachelors  grow  old  faster  than 
married  men. 

Twins. — The  extraordinary  distension  and  at- 
tractiveness of  the  uterus,  is  probably  the  cause  of 
the  birth  of  one  or  more  children  at  one  time. 
Some  writers  think  it  is  occasioned  by  the  presence 
of  several  vesiculae,  ready  to  be  detached  from  the 
ovaria,  and  consequently  ripe  for  fecundation. 
They  may  be  detected  by  motions  in  more  than  one 
part  of  the  body  at  the  same  time. 

Parturition. — When  the  child  has  become  fully 
developed,  the  probability  is,  that  the  labor  pains 
are  produced  by  the  reaction  of  the  fibres  of  the 
uterus,  thus  causing  a  great  distension,  which  makes 
it  compulsory  on  the  fcetus  to  evolve  itself.  After 
confinement  the  uterus  immediately  closes,  and 
falls  into  a  state  of  repose,  from  which  it  is  not 


Fig.  19— Represents  a  full  grown  foetus  in  the  womb, 
/oUled  up  and  in  its  n^Uural  appearance  and  attitude,  most 
ofvuitifully  reprt-seiitnl  and  executed. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  103 

proper  to  disturb  it   for  at   least  a   month,  as  it 
requires  that  time  to  recover  its  natural  situation. 


Formation    of   Fcetus. — About    the   eighteenth 
ly  after  intercourse,  t 
a  determinate  structure. 


day  after  intercourse,  the  ovum  begins  to  assume 


KuRSiNG. — A  pregnant  woman  should  not  suckle 
her  child,  as  it  not  only  robs  the  foetus,  but  injures 
the  mother  and  child.  The  foetus  absorbs  a  por- 
tion of  all  the  aliments  the  mother  partakes  of, 
therefore  the  necessity  of  pregnant  women  being 
careful  of  what  they  eat  and  drink.  The  milk 
taken  by  a  healthy  infant  equals  in  weight  about  a 
third  of  the  food  taken  by  the  mother. 

Teething. — The  small  molar  teeth  appear  be- 
tween the  ages  of  eighteen  months  and  two  years, 
and  then  the  first  dentition  is  complete.  Children 
at  this  time  of  life  will  do  better  in  the  country,  or 
on  the  sea  shore. 

Resemblance  in  the  Offspring  of  the  Parents. 
— Notwithstanding  all  the  speculative  nonsense  that 
has  been  written  on  this  subject,  there  is  nothing 
certain  as  to  the  particular  faculties  or  appearance 
imparted  to  the  offspring  by  the  father  or  mother. 
There  is  only  a  general  rule  of  resemblance.  The 
mental  organs  of  children,  are  not  influenced  by  the 
frame  of  mind  in  which  the  parents — or  either  of 
them — may  have  been  in  at  the  period  of  reproduc- 
tion. I  think  the  fact  of  the  semen  not  being 
created  instantaneously — as  it  would  have  to  be, 
for  the  offspring  to  be  influenced  by  the  state  of 
mind  of  the  parents  at  the  time  of  coition — is  a  suf- 


1 04  QUACKERY. 

ficient  refutation  of  the  tlicories  promulgated  by  the 
would-he  great  physiolagists.  They  and  every  one 
else,  who  protend  to  any  knowledge  of  tliis  subject 
admit  tliUt  the  semen  must  remain  a  certain  length 
of  time  in  its  receptacles  for  it  to  perfect  its  vitality. 
Each  assist  in  modeling  the  embryo  after  their  own 
form  and  likeness.  The  parent  who  is  most  ener- 
getic and  excited  at  the  time  of  sexual  action,  may 
impart  the  most  distinct  features  of  resemblance. 
But  this  combined  resemblance  is  not  imparted  by 
one  to  one  part,  and  the  other  to  another,  but  an  un- 
definable  union  governs  the  whole  frame.  The  qual- 
ity of  one  parent  may  preponderate,  yet,  that  of 
the  other,  equally  pervades  the  entire  system.  It  is 
the  same  with  color;  the  issue  of  a  black  and  white, 
is  well  known  to  be  of  a  uniform  complexion.  The 
children  of  aged  parents — or  where  one  is  old  and 
the  other  young — are  generally  delicate  and  spare 
of  form,  and  very  rarely  well  organized. 


QUACKERY  AND  QUACKS. 

Upon  these  subjects  I  have  doubted  the  propriety 
and  usefulness  of  an  expose;  for  it  is  customary — 
nay,  to  pretenders,  an  all-important  theme,  upon 
which  to  discourse  learnedly — to  stave  off  public 
odium  and  contempt  from  themselves,  by  assuring 
the  public  of  their  prodigious  learning  and  skill, 
in  tearing  down  the  edifices  of  others  to  build  a 
flimsy,  tottering,  untenable  superstructure  for  the 
gigantic  "1,  myself,  the  Dodo?'." 

All  humbugs  depend  for  their  success  upon 
their  being  forced  upon  the  world  by  dint  of  un- 
tiring, unceasing  exertions  to  palm  them  off.    I  cau 


QUACKERY.  105 

estimate  their  sircccss  by  learning  the  amount  of 
exertion  spent  upon  them. 

As  I  have  written  a  book  or  two,  I  shall  not 
criticize  a  certain  class  of  "Prodigies^'  in  that  line, 
lest  I  might  accidentally  fall  into  the  awful  vortex, 
and  grow  giddy  from  the  elevated  estimation  of  my 
own  extraordinary  "  productions/' 

But  I  must  regret  what  cannot  be  helped,  that 
all  large  cities  are  infested  with  a  set  of  self-styled 
"  Professional  Gentlemen,"  who  care  more  for  the 
pulses  of  the  purse  than  for  the  welfare  of  their 
patients.  That  every  man  should  look  carefully  to 
his  own  finances  is  right  and  proper,  but  a  physician 
has  other  duties  to  attend  to  also. 

It  is  all-important  that  Venereal  patients  have 
early,  efiicient  and  skillful  treatment,  as  a  simple 
case  will  assume  a  malignant  form  or  undermine  the 
constitution  if  neglected  or  maltreated. 

In  offering  this  plain  practical  work,  I  know 
those  who  follow  its  teachings,  will  give  me  credit 
for  doing  good,  and  of  being  candid. 

Specifics. — Tended  medicines,  warranted  to  cure 
everything,  are  worse  than  no  remedies  ;  for  in  dif- 
ferent diseases  there  are  also  different  states  of  the 
system ;  and  in  different  stages,  even  of  the  same 
disease,  there  is  marked  dissimilarity  of  action. 
In  the  inflammatory  stage  of  Gonorrhoea,  a  warm 
bath  is  of  great  value  in  relieving  pain,  dif&culty  of 
micturation,  and  fever  in  the  part ;  but  no  one  of 
common  sense  would,  therefore,  advise  a  warm  bath 
as  the  great  remedy  for  clap.  Yet  this  is  what 
venders  of  patent  medicines  say,  "  Good  for  every 
thing." 

Since  I  have  been  so  serious  upon  a  subject  I  pur- 
posed to  treat  lightly,  I  may  be  excused  in  giving 


l')6  r^lsTRY. 

a  poetical  effusion  of  a  conscientious  '*  Allopath  of 
the  Far  West,"  which  was  shown  me  a  few  years 
ago  by  a  western  student,  and  which  was  regarded 
as  a  litera-ry  curiosity.  I  regret  that  I  did  not 
recollect  the  name  of  the  author,  for  it  would  be 
particularly  gratifying  to  me  to  pay  genius  due 
credit.     The  Poem  is  entitled — 


THE  HISTORY  OF  DOCTOR  QUACKEY,  JUNIOR. 


His  history — Lis  fame  must  'write, 

Record  a  s<acred  truth, 
Of  Doctor  Quackey's  only  son, 

A  great  and  famous  youth. 

A  perfect  tiger  on  fits  was  he, 

A  geater  on  a  puke  ; 
He  kills  the  people  all  by  bits  (sitz), 

He  physics,  good  St  Luke  ! 

Although  his  practice  was  not  large, 
He  managed  it  quite  well ; 

Sent  the  pious  up  to  heaven. 
The  wicked  down  to  hell. 

A  pillar  of  the  State  was  he, 
And  showed  his  mighty  skill, 

In  filling  up  most  speedily. 
The  grave-yard  on  the  hill. 

Hydrum-garum,  herbum-scarun:. 

A  scholar  sure  was  he  ; 
Or  never  could  svKih  Latin  words 

Have  uttered  fast  and  free. 

In  fact,  he  was  remarkable, 

A  man  of  genius  pure, 
With  Lobilly  and  liighjohny. 

Would  all  diseases  cure. 


POETRY.  ]  OT 

To  surgery  he  made  pretence, 

H;id  a  scalpel,  spatula  and  fork, 
Talked  loud  of  London,  Paris,  Edinburg, 

Of  Hospitals,  New  York. 

Of  cankers  in  the  blood  said  much, 

Of  heat  and  cold  at  war. 
And  swore  by  his  huge  saddle-bags, 

Ked  pepper  was  the  Cure  ! 

Devoutly  did  he  thank  his  God, 

For  him  Avho  invented  Steam  ; 
To  parboil  mortals  of  the  sod, 

A  hocus-pocus  theme. 

Don  Quixote's  balsam  Sancho  drank, 

Had  ne'er  such  virtue  sure,     • 
Although  it  wrought  a  miracle. 

It  left  poor  Sancho  sore  ! 

Gracious  heavens  ! — help  me  conclude, 

In  spite  of  tears  and  grief, 
The  history  of  that  noble  son. 

That  charlatanic  chief. 

He  died  ! — departed  worth  farewell ! — 

Thy  deeds,  and  prowess  bold. 
Hath  reared  high  up  to  heaven, 

Fame's  monument  of  gold. 

He  offered  his  life  a  sacrifice. 

To  that  dear,  precious  theme  ; 
His  all, — for  to  perpetuate. 

Lobelia, — Pepper, — Steam. 


HISTORY  OF   YENEREAL   DISEASES. 

The  term,  Yenereal  Diseases,  is  applied  to  all 
those  affections  which  are  more  or  less,  directly  or 
indirectly,  the  consequences  of  sexual  intercourse. 


108  BIBLICAL    niSTORY    OF 

As  early  as  two  thousand  four  hundred  years 
before  the  advent  of  our  Saviour,  the  Jewisli  Law- 
giver made  special  laws  to  prevent  or  cure  diseases 
arising  from  sexual  intercourse.  Showing  the  evil 
to  have  been  remarkably  prevalent  at  that  period 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  government  of  that 
ancient  people. 

We  will  examine  the  thirteenth  and  fifteenth 
chapters  of  Leviticus,  impartially,  leaving  the 
reader  to  form  his  own  conclusions. 

Leviticus,  Chap.  13  :  2.  When  a  man  shall 
have  in  the  skin  of  his  flesh  a  rising,  a  scab, 
or  bright  spot,  and  it  be  in  the  skin  of  his  flesh  like 
the  plague  of  leprosy,  then  he  shall  be  brought  unto 
Aaron    the   priest,  or   unto   his   sons   the   priests. 

3.  And  the  priest  shall  look  on  the  plague  in  the 
skin  of  the  flesh:  and  when  the  hair  in  the  plague 
is  turned  white,  and  the  plague  in  his  sight  be 
deeper  than  the  skin  of  his  flesh,  it  is  a  plague  of 
leprosy:  and  the  priest  shall  look  on  him,  and 
pronouce  him  unclean. 

8.  And  if  the  priest  see,  that  behold,  the  scab 
spreadeth  in  the  skin,  then  the  priest  shall  pro- 
nounce him  unclean:  it  is  a  leprosy. 

14.  But  when  raw  flesh  appeareth  in  him,  he 
shall  be  unclean. 

15.  And  the  priest  shall  see  the  raw  flesh  and 
pronounce  him  unclean:  for  the  raw  flesh  is  unclean: 
it  is  a  leprosy. 

Whoever  will  read  attentively  these  two  chap- 
ters, will  find  that  the  diseases  known  as  Leprosy 
and  Syphilis,  are  considered  by  the  ancients  one 
disease.  But  I  shall  show  that  the  preceding 
quotations  indicate  that  the  disease  was  Syphilis, 
for  immediately  after,  a  Bubo  is  described,  which  is 


ve?:ereal  diseases.  109 

the  frequent  consequence  of  Syphilis,  and  never  of 
Leprosy. 

18th  verse.  The  flesh  also,  in  which,  even  in  the 
skin  thereof,  was  a  bile,  and  is  healed. 

19.  And  in  place  of  the  bile  there  be  a  white 
rising,  or  a  bright  spot,  white,  and  somewhat  red- 
dish, and  it  be  showed  to  the  priest; 

20.  And  if,  when  the  priest  seeth  it,  behold,  it 
be  in  sight  lower  than  the  skin,  and  the  hair 
thereof  be  turned  white,  it  is  a  plague  of  leprosy 
broken  out  of  the  bile. 

The  following  refer  to  the  disease  most  known  as 
Gonorrhea,  (clap,)  and  is  of  a  different  character 
from  the  former: 

Leviticus,  chap.  15  :  2.  Speak  unto  the  children 
of  Israel,  and  say  unto  them.  When  any  man  hath 
a  running  issue  out  of  his  flesh,  because  of  his  issue 
he  is  unclean. 

3.  And  this  shall  be  his  uncleanness  in  his  issue: 
whether  his  flesh  run  with  his  issue,  or  his  flesh  be 
stopped  from  his  issue,  it  is  his  uncleanness. 

16.  And  if  any  man's  seed  of  copulation  go  out 
from  him.  (This  also  proves  that  the  involuntary 
loss  of  semen  for  excessive  sexual  indulgence  was 
Avell  known  to  Moses.) 

19.  And  if  a  woman  have  an  issue,  and  her  issue 
in  her  flesh  be  blood,  she  shall  be  put  apart  seven 
days. 

The  ablution  and  abstinence  enjoined  by  Moses 
must  have  been  to  prevent  or  cure  affections  liable 
to  follow  sexual  intercourse  at  that  time,  and 
exhibits  great  sagacity  and  knowledge  of  human 
nature  in  the  promulgator. 

Solomon,  2950  years  before  Christ,  was  equally 
aware  of  the  evil  consequences  of  excessive  com 


110  VENEREAL    DISEABES. 

nierce  between  the  sexes,  for  in  the  fifth  cliapter, 
and  tliird  verse,  we  find  Wisdom  admonishes  her  son 
thns  :  For  tlie  lips  of  a  stranj^e  woman  drop  as  a 
lioneycomV),  and  her  month  is  smoother  than  oil. 
4.  Her  end  is  bitter  as  wormwood,  sharp  as  a  two- 
edged  sword.  5.  Her  feet  go  down  to  death.  18. 
Let  thy  fonntain  be  blessed,  and  rejoiee  with  the 
wife  of  thy  youth.  19.  Let  her  be  as  the  loving 
hind  and  jjleasant  roe ;  let  her  breasts  satisfy 
thee  at  all  times;  and  be  thou  ravished  with  her 
love. 

Later:  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  chapter  t, 
It  is  good  for  a  man  not  to  touch  a  woman;  but 
if  they  cannot  contain,  let  them  marry:  for  it  is 
better  to  marry  than  to  burn. 

"  In  the  year  1245,  Ubertius,  governor  of  Carrara, 
died  of  a  lingering  disease  of  his  private  parts, 
occasioned  by  too  much  venery." 

About  the  year  1423,  a  physician  of  Bologna, 
says,  "that  the  retention  of  the  poisonous  matter 
lodged  between  tlie  glans  and  prepuce,  after  a  man 
has  had  to  do  with  a  foul  woman,  causes  the  part 
to  become  black,  and  the  substance  of  the  yard 
mortifies,  and  that  Bubo  occurs  in  the  groin  in  con- 
sequence." 

A  physician  of  Rome,  in  1527,  first  called  it  the 
Venereal  Disease." 

Not  until  1782  was  it  demonstrated  that  Gonor- 
rhoea and  Syphilis  were  different  diseases.  The 
honor  of  this  discovery  is  due  to  Benjamin  Bell,  an 
English  surgeon. 

In  1830,  M.  Ricord,  a  Paris  surgeon,  proved 
conclusively  that  a  special  cause  (perfectly  inde- 
pendent of  the  sexual  organs)  gave  rise  to,  and 
occasioned  the  propagation  of  Syphilis,  showing  it 


non-viuum;nt  diseases.  Ill 

to  be  as  distinct  a  contagious  disease  by  inoculation 
as  is  the  small-pox. 

NoN-VuiULKNT  Affkctionh  wiil  iMcliulc  Gonor- 
rhcea,  Lcucorrhctja  (whites),  irritation  and  indannna- 
tion  of  tiie  organs  of  generation,  excoriations,  etc. 

YiuuLENT  Affections. — Syphilis  is  the  result  of 
a  specific  poison.  First  stage  is  local,  second  stage 
is,  when  it  is  absorbed  into  the  system,  and  may  he 
transmitted  to  the  offspring,  l)nt  not  inocniable; 
tliird  stage  is  still  deeper  seated,  and  affects  the 
deeper  seated  parts,  the  bones,  etc;.,  and  cannot  ))e 
produced  by  inoculation,  but  it  will  be  hereditary. 

NON-VIRULENT    DISEASES. 

By  tlie  terra  non-virulent  is  meant  those  afifec- 
tions  following  (may  -exist  without  sexual  inter- 
course) sexual  intercourse,  reproducing  themselves, 
contagious  by  contact  with  mucous  menibnines,  hut 
will  not  produce  the  disease  by  inoculation  in  the 
.skin. 

Under  this  head,  first  we  shall  speak  of  those 
discharges  common  to  both  married  and  umnarried 
females. 

It  is  estimated  that  four-fifths  of  the  females  of 
Paris  have  a  constant  discharge  from  the  vagina. 
To  attribute  this  to  gonorrhoea  would  be  mon- 
strously  absurd. 

Even  in  this  city  female  discharges  are  infinitely 
more  common  than  many  imagine,  even  in  virgins: 
but  they  must  not  be  attributed  to  contagion  nor 
sexual  intercourse,  except  in  a  small  minority. 

Yet  when  these  discharges  are  acrid,  they  will 
frequently  cause  irritation  and  dischurge  from  the 


112  DISCHARGES    OF 

male  organ  after  coition,  or  occasion  abrasion  of  the 
glans  and  prepuce,  but  which  is  not  gonorrhoea. 
For  example,  it  frequently  occurs  from  a  severe 
cold  that  the  acrid  mucous  secretions  excoriate  the 
nose  and  lips,  the  tears,  the  eye-lids  and  cheeks, 
yet  no  one  ever  thinks  for  an  instant  that  there 
ought  to  exist  any  suspicion  of  an  immoral  cause. 

The  mucous  membrane  lining  the  nose,  eyes, 
mouth,  vagina,  penis  or  anus,  is  one  and  the  same 
in  its  character.  But  if  a  discharge  equally  inno- 
cent, and  which  would  cause  no  more  irritation  than 
the  former,  should  exist  in  the  male  or  female 
organs  of  generation,  suspicion  is  at  once  aroused, 
but  without  a  cause. 

Then,  from  many  of  the  discharges  which  females 
labor  under,  an  irritation,  excoriation  or  discharge 
may  occur  from  coition,  in  the  male  organ,  and  not 
be  a  clap— proper — nor  have  been  produced  by 
previous  intercourse. 

DISCHARGES    PECULIAR   TO    FEMALES. 

Leucorrhosa  is  an  excessive,  and  altered  secretion 
of  the  mucus  furnished  by  the  membranes  lining 
the  vagina  and  uterus  or  womb,  generally  white  or 
nearly  colorless  and  transparent,  without  much 
odor,  sometimes  gluey  or  resembling  pus,  (matter,) 
or  may  be  yellow,  green  or  slightly  bloody,  either 
very  thin  or  quite  thick,  and  may  exist  for  a  few 
days  or  many  years. 

This  is  an  affection  among  females  which  is 
exceedingly  common,  and  which  frequently  cause  a 
disease  in  the  urethra  of  the  male — even  in  the  staid, 
sober,  pious,  and  strictly  moral  man  too;  but  there 
are  those  whose  piety  is  questionable,  who  try  to 


FKMALES.  113 

filiield  themselves  behind  false  assertions,  and 
fla_G;i'ant  improbabilities. 

The  cases  are  so  rare  in  whicli  persons  are  hap- 
pily deceived,  that  I  shall  relate  one:    M ,  a 

married  man,  of  family;  like  a  certain  Congress 
man,  vvhase  sympathy  induced  him  to  offer  a  peti 
tion  in  Congress  for  the  Relief  of  Widows  and 
Orphans. 

He  said,  "  Mr.  Speaker,  (holding  a  paper  in  one 
hand,  the  other  being  thrust  into  his  breeches 
pocket,)  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  petition  for  the  relief 
of  Widows  and  Orphans."  A  waggish  member 
asked  the  orator,  "  In  which  hand  ?"  The  dif- 
ference between  the- latter  and  the  former  gentleman 
was,  that  the  first  had  sympathized  with  a  widow 
only,  and  that  his  pungent  convictions  were  that  he 
was  not  the  first  who  had.  also  sympathized  with  the 
"  Lone  Widow." 

But  the  result  proved  that  his  fright  was  occa- 
sioned by  irritation  of  the  urethra  from  a  leucor- 
rhcea,  which  terminated  the  menses.  However,  to 
punish  him  for  his  waywardness,  I  let  him  repent 
for  his  sins  of  commission,  by  not  undeceiving  him. 

I  must  necessarily  be  brief  in  the  little  I  have  to 
say  upon  the  treatment  of  leucorrhcea  in  either  sex, 
or  rather  in  the  female,  and  the  irritation  caused 
by  it  in  the  male.  Cleanliness  is  an  important  item 
here.  In  the  male  all  these  irritations  as  stated 
above,  will  yield  in  a  day  or  two  with  the  appro- 
priate treatment. 

But  in  the  opposite  sex,  leucorrhcea  may  depend 
upon  debility  or  upon  the  robustness  of  an  inactive 
life  so  common  among  people  in  easy  circumstances, 
or  upon  excessive  venery  or  copulation.  The  bowels 
.should  be  kept  regular  with  Turkey  rhubarb,  and 


114  ABiENCl':    OF  "^ 

frequent  injectious  into  the  vagina  of  warm  water 
should  be  used.  Moderate  and  out-of-door  exer- 
cise, and  j^ood,  but  not  stimulating,  diet  are  also 
proper.  In  the  robust,  a  recent  affection  will  be 
relieved  by  a  cleanliness  of  the  parts,  frequent 
but  gentle  physic  and  exercise  and  low  diet.  Of 
course,  coition  must  be  prohibited  for  a  time  at 
least. 

I  was  consulted  by  a  married  lady  who  had  suf- 
fered extremely  in  body,  as  well  as  disappointment 
from  sterility  for  six  years,  in  consequence  of  au 
inveterate  leucorrhcca  (whites),  which  to  her  was 
almost  death,  as  her  whole  heart  was  full  of  the 
desire  iind  hope  to  have  children.  After  three 
weeks'  treatmeiit — simple  treatment — she  suspected 
that  the  object  of  her  sanguine  hopes  was  attained, 
as  the  monthly  period  had  passed  without  the  usual 
menstruation. 

Time  revealed  the  fact  that  the  "  consummation 
most  devoutly  to  be  wished/''  was  no  longer  au 
uncertainty. 

I  am  satisfied  that  a  large  number  of  married 
women  arc  barren  from  this  cause. 


OF    AMENOUmiOEA,  OR  THE    ABSENCE  OF    MENSTRUATION, 

First. — Amenorrhea  of  Rentention,  in  which 
the  function  is  not  performed  at  the  natural  time, 
or  at  all,  of  which  tliere  are  tiiree  varieties. 

1st, — Non-appearance  of  the  menses  in  conse- 
quence of  congenital  dehciency,  or  malformation,  or 
strictnral  disease  of  the  genital  organs. 

2Md, — Want  of  menstruation,  wliere  independ- 
ently of  deficiency  or  malformation,  there  is  either 


M EXSTRU ATION.  1  ]  5 

a  show  and  partial  development,  or  an  entire 
absence  of  puberty. 

ord, — When  the  function  ceases  after  puberty. 

Second. — Suppression  of  menstruation  after  it 
lias  been  established  for  a  time,  independent  of 
pregnancy  or  lactation,  including  two  varieties. 

1st, — Recent  and  acute  suppression. 

2nd, — Chronic  suppression. 

In  a  work  like  this  it  will  the  better  serve  the 
end  for  whicli  it  was  written,  to  give  a  succinct 
description  of  those  of  more  frequent  occurrence, 
leaving  th-e  rare  and  extraordinary  to  our  work  de- 
signed for  the  professional  reader  alone. 

Suppression  of  menstruation  after  puberty  may 
depend  upon  too  great  fullness  of  blood,  robust- 
ness of  habit,  seldom  occurring  in  those  young 
females  who  reside  in  crowded  towns  or  manufac- 
turing places,  but  in  young  ladies  of  the  country 
who  live  more  naturally,  and  exercise  in  the  open 
au\  It  more  usually  occurs  in  the  delicate,  irri- 
table and  hysterical. 

Amenorrhoea  in  females  of  full  habit  and  costive 
tendency,  is  attended  with  full,  heavy  oppressive 
feeling  in  the  head,  back  and  loins,  with  either 
great  heat  of  the  hands  an.d  feet,  or  coldness,  witn 
sudden  flashes  of  heat;  drowsiness,  dizziness  and 
indisposition  to  mental  or  physical  exercise. 

The  appropriate  treatment,  will  be  regular 
liabits,  low  diet,  and  frequent  physic. 

The  compound  Aloetic  Pills  are  an  excellent 
cathartic.  Dose,  two  to  five,  taken  at  bed  time, 
twice  or  thrice  a  week. 

Amenorrhoea  from  a  delicate,  irritable  or  hys- 
terical state  of  the  system,  is  diametrically  opposite 
to  the  former  condition  of  system;  the  former  being 


116  AMEiNOKRHCL'A. 

#■ 

too  full  of  the  vitalizing  fluid,  the  latter  being  not 
full  enough. 

In  a  young  or  niicklle  aged  woman,  fleshy,  full 
of  blood,  high  color,  the  suppression  of  the  uterine 
function,  will  be  followed  by  congestion  or  inflani- 
niation.  While  in  a  delicate  woman,  thin,  spare, 
of  sallow  complexion,  extremely  nervous,  the  result 
of  suppression  would  be  irritation,  attended  witli 
spasms  and  severe  pain,  with  intervals  of  ease  and 
quiet.  In  the  former,  violent  hysterics  often  follow 
an  attack.  In  the  latter,  tJie  symptoms — as  pain 
in  the  head,  back,  loins,  limbs  and  abdomen,  yet  it 
is  of  a  neuralgic  or  nervous  character.  The  pain 
attacks  hrst  one  and  then  another  organ,  frequently 
shifting. 

If  treatment  is  resorted  to,  such  as  a  mustard 
poultice,  or  a  stimulating  and  anodyne  formenta- 
tion,  the  pain  is  quickly  removed  from  the  womb  to 
the  head,  from  the  head  to  the  chest,  or  heart,  or 
bowels.  The  patient  is  subject  to  fits  of  hysterics 
and  fainting. 

In  treating  the  debilitated  female  for  the  sup- 
pression of  the  function  of  menstruation,  the  two 
grand  objects  are  to  increase  the  strength  and  im- 
prove the  general  health,  and  to  enrich  the  blood. 
This  is  best  accomplished  by  generous  diet,  such  as 
is  easy  of  digestion,  keeping  the  bowels  regular  by 
means  of  the  compound  Aloe  pills,  and  the  internal 
use  of  iron.  The  muriated  Tincture  of  Iron  taken 
two  hours  after  meals  in  half  a  wine  glass  of  water 
in  the  dose  of  three  drops,  increasing  one  drop  ])er 
dose  at  the  end  of  every  three  days.  An  occasional 
mustard  hip  bath,  cool  sponging  followed  immedi- 
ately by  friction  of  the  surface,  to  get  up  a  glow, 
are  powerful  auxiliaries. 


MEmCINES.  in 

Of  direct  applications  to  the  womb,  electricity  is 
almost  the  only  means  to  be  used. 

In  some  of  the  cases,  where,  after  the  condition 
of  the  stomach  and  bowels  were  healthy,  the  ame- 
norrhcea  continued  with  slight  paleness  and  weak- 
ness, electric  shocks  passed  through  the  loins 
quickly  induced  menstruation.  In  others,  its  fre- 
quent repetition  led  to  a  similar  result;  and  instan- 
ces were  not  wanting  where  a  shock  suddenly 
produced  the  flow.  Electricity  is  a  powerful  agent 
and  must  be  used  with  great  caution.  If  preg- 
nancy be  suspected  to  exist,  however  strenuously 
denied  by  the  patient,  it  ought  not  to  be  employed. 
Doctor  Ashwell  once  ordered  it,  he  says,  quite 
ignorantly,  where  the  suppression  depended  upon 
pregnancy  cautiously  concealed,  and  abortion  oc- 
curred within  an  hour. 


OF     MEDICINES    WHICH    EXERT    AN    INFLUENCE    IN 
RESTORING     MENSTRUATION. 

Mercury  is  a  valuable  and  powerful  remedy,  but 
it  should  only  be  administered  by  a  competent 
medical  adviser. 

Iron,  I  have  already  spoken  of. 

Ergot  of  Rye— rSacale  Cornutum. — This  medi- 
cine has  wonderful  influence  upon  the  pregnant 
uterus,  by  producing  contraction  of  that  organ, 
hence  it  is  not  safe  in  the  hands  of  persons  who 
wish  to  secure  themselves  from  the  opprobrium  of 
society,  to  destroy  the  evidences  of  criminal  indul- 
gences. 

Iodine,  Madder,  Rue,  Savine,  Scneka-root,  Nitre, 
Digitalis,  Gamboge,  Serpentaria,  Wormwood,  Musk, 


1  1  8  GONORRHCRA. 

Myrrh,  Castor,  Valerian,  Lavender,  etc.,  etc.;  but 
most  of  these  are  simply  adjnvants. 

Aloes  is  the  most  vahiable  emenagogue  cathartic, 
])rodnciiiG:  the  most  salutary  effect  upon  tlie  uterus 
through  the  bowels.  This  is  so  serious  and  so  com- 
mon a  difficulty,  and  the  results,  if  neglected,  so 
melancholy,  that  I  most  earnestly  advise  all  such 
sufferers  to  oljtain  early  and  good  medical  aid. 

I  have  seen  many — very  many,  beautiful,  talented, 
and  accomplished  young  ladies  go  down  to  prema- 
ture graves  by  the  cessation  of  this  all  important 
function  of  the  uterine  system. 

GONORRHCEA    IN    THE    MALE. 

In  France  it  is  commonly  known  nnder  the  name 
of  chaude  pisse  ;  in  England  and  in  this,  country,  it 
is  called  clap,  from  the  French  clapier,  which  signi- 
fies a  filthy  abscess. 

The  circumstances  which  favor  its  contraction, 
are  a  large  meatus  in  the  penis,  and  the  fact  that, 
during  erection  and  previous  to  the  ejection  of  the 
semen,  the  orifice  of  the  urethra  has  a  great  tend- 
ency to  open,  thereby  favoring  the  introduction  of 
the  gonorrhceal  matter.  This  undoubtedly  occurs 
previous  to  emission,  otherwise  the  disease  would 
be  more  common  than  it  is,  i^  H  was  not  forced 
out  of  the  urethra  by  the  ejaculated  semen. 

The  symptoms  of  Gonorrhoea  consist  in,  at  first, 
a  sensation  between  pain  and  a  pleasurable  feeling 
near  the  end  of  the  penis,  just  within  the  urethra, 
which  iVequcntly  excites  erections.  Soon  after, 
however,  follows  an  increase  of  pain,  heat,  redness 
of  the  meatus,  scalding  on  making  water,  and  a 
thick  yellow  or  greenish-yellow,  discharge  from  the 


PLATE    !0 


F>,  20. 


GLEET.  121 

firethra.  Sometimes,  tlierc  is  great  difficulty  of 
passing  urine,  witli  excessive  iuflaramation  of  the 
eiKl  of  the  penis  and  prepuce. 

These  symptoms  are  soon  followed  in  many  cases 
by  Chordee,  which  depends  upon  the  loss  of  elas- 
ticity of  the  tissues  which  surround  the  urethra,  and 
which  during  erections  do  not  yield  as  in  health, 
so  that  the  penis  is  drawn  downwards  or  bent  to 
either  side,  exciting  great  suffering  in  those  whose 
organs  increase  much  in  size  during  erection. 

In  severe  cases,  cramp,  pains  in  the  testicle,  a 
feeling  of  tightness  in  the  groin,  pricking  in  the 
perineum  below  the  testicles,  and  frequent  desire  to 
pass  water,  add  to  the  severity  of  the  case. 

These  symptoms  increase  as  the  disease  travels 
down  the  canal. 

These  are  the  more  urgent  symptoms  of  the  acute 


Chronic  Stage — Gleet. — In  consequence  of  no 
treatment,  or  that  which  is  inefiQcient,  the  acute 
stage  degenerates  into  the  chronic,  which  is  known 
))y  a  marked  mitigation  of  all  the  symptoms  of  the 
acute  form.  The  discharge  may  become  thin  and 
vv^atery,  or  be  thick  and  less  copious.  In  other 
^ases,  no  running  is  seen  during  the  day,  the  lips  of 
Uie  meatus  being  merely  glued  together;  the  slight 
discharge  upon  the  linen  may  only  leave  a  stain  like 
that  of  gum.  It  sometimes  occurs  that  the  only 
symptom,  and  one  which  is  apt  to  frighten  fidgety 
(nervous)  persons,  is  a  discharge  of  shreds  of  mucous 
which  resembles  false  membrane,  or  bits  of  vermicelli. 

The  Chordee  may  continue  a  considerable  time 
after  the  other  symptoms  have  ceased. 

Occasionally,   when   the    Gonorrhoea    is    nearly 


122  GLEET.  • 

well,  nocturnal  pollutions  occur,  and  not  only  ocoa* 
Biou  great  suffering,  but  excite  a  renewal  of  all  the 
former  symptoms. 

Difficulty  of  making  water  (micturition)  may 
occur  in  this  stage,  which  is  caused  by  a  spasmodic 
stricture,  or  inflammation  in  the  canal,  from  taking 
cold.  Or  an  opposite  state  may  supervene.  ■  The 
urethra  loses,  in  part,  its  power  of  contracting,  so 
that  when  the  bladder  has  emptied  itself,  a  small 
quantity  of  urine  remains  in  the  canal,  which  it  is 
not  able  to  evacuate,  and  as  soon  as  the  penis 
hangs  in  a  dependent  state  it  dribbles  away,  stain- 
ing the  clothes,  and  is  no  inconsiderable  annoyance 
to  the  patient. 

As  I  treat  fully  in  another  place  upon  Impotency, 
Seminal  Weakness,  Masturbation,  and  Sterility, 
I  will  simply  state  that  chronic  gonorrhoea,  or  gleet, 
will  almost  invariably  cause  impotence  and  sexual 
debility.  The  patient  should  not  forget  this  im- 
portant truth,  that  is,  that  a  private  disease  (vene- 
real or  gonorrhoea)  never  dries  up,  or  wears  out. 
It  will  certainly  continue  or  end  by  producing 
another  disease,  if  not  radically  cured. 

I  always  have  some  patients — which,  unfor- 
tunately for  themselves  and  wives — can  bear  wit- 
ness to  this  fact.  No  person,  therefore,  who  has 
cohabited  with  any  female — other  than  his  wife — 
should  even  think  of  sexual  commerce  with  her,  for 
at  least  two  weeks  after  the  other  coition.  I  cure 
innocent  wives  weekly,  whose  husbands  haft3  given 
them  the  disease,  from  not  being  aware  of  the 
necessity  of  refraining  from  having  to  do  with  them 
the  length  of  time  above  stated.  I  have  cured 
patients  who  had  not  cohabited  within  fifty  days, 
but  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  cohabited  with 


CHORDEE.  123 

their  wives,  and  the  next  day  the  disease  made  its 
appearance,  although  they  had  felt,  and  the  penis 
had  looked  perfectly  well  for  the  whole  time.  I 
have  so  many  cases  of  disease  that  does  not  develop 
itself  till  a  day  or  two  after  cohabiting  with  their 
wives,  that  I  fearlessly  assert  as  an  indisputable 
fact,  that  nine  out  of  every  ten  females  will  contract 
a  disease  from  a  man  who  has  cohabited  with  a 
diseased  woman,  though  the  disease  may  not  be 
developed  for  a  day  or  two  after  the  healthy  con- 
nection. As  a  proof  that  his  wife  is  pure,  no 
private  disease  generally  develops  itself  within  five 
or  six  days  after  the  connection.  A  chancre  (pri- 
mary syphilis)  may  show  itself — in  consequence  of 
an  abrasion  of  the  skin  of  the  penis  in  the  act  of 
coition — within  twenty-four  hours,  but  under  no 
other  cireumstances  will  it  do  so. 

In  consequence  of  the  immense  number  of  half- 
cured.,  constitutional  and  complicated  cases,  con- 
stantly being  revealed  to  me,  I  think  the  best 
advice  a  person  can  follow  who  has  been  inoculated, 
is  to  open  the  bowels,  adopt  a  spare  diet,  keep  the 
parts  clean  with  cold  water,  and  apply  immediately 
to  a  competent  physician,  but,  above  all,  never  use 
the  cfuack  or  advertised  remedies.  The  hands,  and 
your  clothes,  must  be  kept  clean  and  free  from  any 
discharge,  or  your  eyes,  nose,  or  anus  will  be  in 
danger  of  inoculation,  as  the  smallest  possible  quan- 
tity is  sufficient  to  create  a  disease. 

Chordee. — By  following  the  advice  just  directed, 
Chordee  will  seldom  succeed,  but  when  it  does,  im- 
mediate attention  will  be  required.  As  erections 
are  the  main  cause  of  suffering,  they  may  be  avoided 
or  checked  by  dispensing  with  female  society,  lasci- 


124  THE    DISEASES    OF 

vious  thoughts,  stimnlatinir  and  late  meals,  feather* 
beds,  and  much  bed-clothing. 

When  erections  occur  use  cold  bathing  to  the 
penis,  and  put  the  feet  on  the  cold  floor.  An  emul- 
sion, containing  5  grains  of  camphor,  and  an  ciglith 
of  a  grain  of  morphine,  (sulphate  of  morphine,) 
should  be  taken  at  bed-time.  The  camplior  can  be 
pulverized  by  adding  a  drop  or  two  of  alcohol; 
sweetened  water,  syrup,  or  gum-arabic  water,  can 
be  used  as  a  vehicle  for  the  medicine,  which  must 
be  continued  as  long  as  the  chordee  is  distressing. 

Retention  of  Water. — This  will  sometimes 
happen,  and  will  be  relieved  by  hot  mucilaginous 
teas  drank  freely,  while  a  hot  poultice  is  applied  to 
the  lower  part  of  the  bowels.  Should  this  not 
succeed,  the  water  must  be  drawn  with  the  catheter. 

Inflammation  of  the  Keck  of  the  Bladder. — 
Which  is  indicated  by  a  frequent  and  urgent  call  to 
make  wa.ter,  attended  with  pain  on  passing  the  last 
drops,  and  which  may  be  mixed  with  blood.  Muci- 
laginous drinks,  low  diet,  and  an  enema,  containing 
20  to  30  drops  of  laudanum,  must  be  thrown  into 
the  bowels  twice-a-day.  If  severe,  even  more  active 
means  should  be  used,  for  which  the  advice  of  a 
physician  will  be  necessary. 

Buboes. — When  Buboes  occur  in  the  inflamma- 
tory stage  of  Clap,  they  are  only  sympathetic,  a:.d 
require  a  hot  poultice,  or  possibly  a  few  leeches 
to  be  applied,  and  the  bowels  to  be  kept  open. 
Sometimes,  however,  this  class  of  buboes — especially 
if  the  patient  is  of  a  scrofulous  diathesis — are  of  the 
most  obstinate  kind. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  ]  2;j 


SWELLED    TESTICLE. 


Generally,  during  the  continuance  erf  Gonorrhoea, 
if  the  patient  is  at  all  observant  of  his  symptoms, 
he  will  feel  pain  in  the  perineum,  accompanied  by  a 
dull,  heavy,  aching  sensation  in  the  groin  and  along 
the  course  of  the  chord  of  the  testicle,  and  finally  a 
settled  pain  in  the  upper  and  back  part  of  the 
scrotum,  (bag,)  so  t'hat  the  hardness  and  swelling 
can  be  traced  with  the  thumb  and  finger  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  along  the  cord.  If  the  patient 
frets  the  organ  by  walking,  or  takes  cold,  the 
swelling  is  rapidly  increased,  the  suffering  on  the 
slightest  motion  is  excruciating.  Often  during 
sleep  the  suffering  is  suddenly  rendered  almost 
insupportable  by  the  occurrence  of  nocturnal  emis- 
sions. The  semen  may  be  accompanied  with  blood, 
which  sometimes  gives  temporary  relief. 

When  the  inflammation  runs  high,  there  will  be 
fever,  dry  skin,  furred  tongue,  hard  quick  pulse, 
pain  in  the  testicle  and  belly  (abdomen),  sometimes 
constipation,  accompanied  with  vomiting.  But 
notwithstanding  these  severe  symptoms,  patients 
seldom  die  of  this  affectiom. 

The  causes  which  excite  this  disease  are  cold, 
falling  of  mumps,  fatigue,  damp  weather,  sexual 
intercourse,  and  particularly  are  these  causes  more 
apparent,  after  gonorrhoea,  which  leaves  the  organs 
of  generation  very  susceptible  to  slight  influences. 
The  inflammation  in  the  uretlira  may  travel  to  the 
testicle  directly. 

Sv/elled  testicles  seldom  occurs  during  the  inflam- 
matory stage  of  gonorrhoea,  therefore  I  advice  early 
and  powerful  means,  which,  instead  of  creating  the 
disease  of  this  sensitive  organ,  cures  the  primary 


126  THE    CONORRHCEA    OF 

condition  of  the  uretlia,  thereby  precluding  the  po* 
pibility  of  its  occurrence.  Tlie  cord  leading  into 
the  abdomen  from  the  upper  part  of  tiie  testicle 
may  also  swell  and  be  painful. 

To  prevent  the  difficulty,  Gonorrhua  should  be 
cured  as  early  as  possible,  and  when  there  has  been 
uneasiness  in  the  organ,  a  supensary  bandage  to 
liold  up  the  part  should  be  worn.  When  the  diffi- 
culty has  taken  place,  staying  at  home  is  of  but 
little  use  unless  the  recumbent  posture  is  perse ver- 
ingly  maintained,  and  the  testicle  supported,  as  its 
own  weight  will  help  to  aggravate  the  inflammation 
and  augment  the  pain.  The  diet  must  be  low,  and 
all  spirituous  liquors,  beer,  etc.,  must  not  be  allowed. 
The  gonorrhoea — which  is  the  usual  cause  of  swelled 
testicle — will  re-appear,  or  increase,  as  the  swelling 
decreases,  for  it  is  a  singular  fact,  that  the  discharge 
may  cease  during  the  whole  time  of  the  swelling  of 
the  testicle. 

GLEET. 

A  Gonorrhoea,  unaccompanied  with  pain  in  urmat- 
ing,  is  properly  a  chronic  one,  and  a  gleet  is  a 
slight  discharge  just  before  urinating,  or  may  be 
only  on  rising  in  the  morning.  It  will  sometimes 
be  so  slight,  that  the  lij)s  of  the  urethra  or  meatus 
are  glued  or  stuck  together.  This  is  often  the  case, 
when  a  stricture  has  formed.  Chordee  may  con- 
tinue for  a  long  time  after  the  original  disease  is 
entirely  eradicated,  unless  it  is  also  removed  by  the 
proper  treatment.  It  is  a  very  usual  occurrence 
for  me  to  cure  patients  who  have  been  under  treat- 
ment for  even  twenty  years,  yet  hi  nineteen  cases 
out  of  every  twenty,  I  can  cure  them  in  two  days, 
and  often  one. 


THE    FEMALE.         .  12t 

This  coucludes  what  I  have  to  say  upon  Gon 
orrhcea  in  the  male,  except  a  few  words  upon 
Gonorrhceal  Rheumatism,  and  Sore  Eyes. 

It  is  a  most  remarkable  fact — and  one,  the  solu- 
tion of  which  is  far  from  beinj^  clear,  or  satisfac- 
tory— that  a  person  who  has  been  affected  with 
Gonorrhoea,  for  only  a  few  weeks'  even,  will  often 
suffer  from  Rheumatism  and  Sore  Eyes.  And  what 
is  more  remarkable  than  that  wdiich  I  have  just 
stated,  is,  that  the  only  successful  treatment  for 
this  sort  of  constitutional  or  sympathetic  disease,  is 
the  same,  as  the  one  I  adopt  in  curing  constitu' 
tional  Syphilis.  The  rheumatic  affection,  will  very 
often  continue  for  a  long  time  after  the  local  one 
has  been  cured.  When  the  eyes  are  inoculated 
with  the  gonorrhceal  virus,  the  rapidity  and  violence 
of  the  disease  will  destroy  them  in  twenty-four 
hours  even,  if  an  heroically  prompt  treatment  is  not 
at  once  adopted, 

GONORRHCEA    IN    THE    FEMALE. 

This  affection  is  scarcely  different — except  in  a 
few  particulars — in  its  effects  and  symptoms  in  the 
female  than  in  the  male.  As  the  female  organs  of 
generation  are  directly  opposite  in  construction  in 
the  sense  that  they  are  calculated  to  receive  the 
male  organ,  the  capacity  alone,  renders  the  symj> 
toms  and  suffering  from  gonorrhoea  in  the  female 
much  less  urgent  and  less  severe. 

In  fact,  a  female  may  have  a  discharge  and  even 
a  gouorrhcea,  and  know  nothing  of  its  existence 
except  from  the  stains  found  upon  her  linen. 

The  usual  symptoms,  are  heat,  uneasiness,  dis- 
charge, and  sometimes,  but  not  always,  smarting 
while  (micturating)  making  water. 


128  .  THE    DISEASES    CP 

As  Uic  disetise  is  purely  local,  the  general  sys* 
tern  is  bat  little  affected.  The  spirits  and  digestion 
may  flag  for  a  time,  and  the  internal  lips  may  be 
swollen,  red  and  painful;  but  no  difficulty  will 
attend  passing  the  water.  On  opening  the  inner 
lips,  (nymphffi,)  a  thick  yellow,  or  greenish-yellow 
matter  will  be  observed  issuing  from  the  parts. 
When,  however,  the  disease  is  situated  in  the 
urethra,  there  will  be  some  pain  in  passing  urine, 
but  not  so  severe  as  in  the  opposite  sex,  for  the 
canal  is  short  and  much  larger. 

When  the  gonorrhoia  is  deep  in  the  vagina,  or  in 
the  uterus,  (womb,)  the  cure  is  not  so  rapid,  (in 
fact,  is  sometimes  almost  incurable,)  as  when  less 
deep,  or  in  the  urethra.  Frequent  injections  of 
water,  to  thoroughly  cleanse  the  parts,  is  of  the 
utmost  importance.  The  female  syringe  should  be 
of  medium  size,  and  bent  at  an  obtuse  angle,  to 
enable  the  patient  to  use  it  herself.  The  injection 
should  be  gently  thrown  into  the  vagina;  the  beak 
of  the  instrument  having  been  passed  two  or  three 
inches,  while  the  patient  is  in  a  bath,  or  on  the 
edge  of  a  seat.  To  retain  it  a  few  minutes,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  lay  upon  the  back  with  tlie  hips 
slightly  elevated. 

When  the  affection  is  in  the  outer  portion  of  the 
vagina,  dry  lint,  or  soft  linen  cloth  may  be  passed 
into  the  canal  after  injections  have  been  used,  to 
keep  the  irritated  and  inflamed  surfaces  apart, 
which  will  have  a  salutary  effect. 

In  deep-seated  inflammation  of  the  iinier  lips,  or 
nympha),  suppuration  will  sometimes  take  pj-ace. 
The  matter  which  forms,  will  produce  a  large  «-uJ 
painful  swelling  of  the  part. 


WM 


THE    CxEXERATIVE    ORGANS.  131 


EXCORIATIOX    OF    THE    GENITALS. 

Under  this  head  I  shall  treat  of  all  simple  abra- 
bIoiir,  fretting-  or  chafing  of  the  organs  of  genera- 
tion in  both  sexes. 

Excoriation,  and  little  water,  or  other  pimples 
are  very  common  in  some  persons.  They  are 
cansed  by  gonorrhoea  or  syphilis,  not  having  been 
tlioro"ughly  eradicated — an  irritation  in  the  ure- 
thra— or  by  excessive  sexual  intercourse.  It  is 
more  common  in  newly  married  people,  and  they 
should  regard  it  as  a  kind  warning  against  a  too 
free  indalgence  in  the  pleasures  of  the  honey-moon, 
by  that  prudent  old  matron,  Dame  Nature.  For 
those  who  heed  not,  shall  suffer  the  penalty  of  her 
stern  laws. 

STRICTURE. 

Stricture  is  a  common  result  of  gleet,  or  a  gonor- 
rhoea, long  contin-ued. 

A  stricture  is  a  lessening  of  the  natural  size  of 
the  urethra. 

Sir  Astley  Cooper's  classification  of  strictures  hns 
been  followed  by  most  of  the  eminent  surgical 
writers  since  his  day,  viz.  : — the  Permanent,  the 
Spasmodic,  and  the  Inflammatory. 

OF    SPASMODIC    STRICTURE. 

Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  has  so  graphically  and  cor- 
rectly described  this  form  of  the  complaint,  that  I 
shall  quote  his  own  words  :  "  A  man  who  is  other- 
wise healthy,  voids  his  urine  one  day  in  a  full  stream. 
On  the  following  day,  perhaps,  lie  is  exposed  to  cold 


132  THE    DISEASES    OF 

and  damp ;  or  lie  dines  out,  and  forgets,  amid  the 
company  of  Lis  friends,  tlie  quantity  of  champaignc, 
or  puncli,  or  other  liquor,  containing  a  combination 
of  alcohol  with  a  vegetable  acid,  which  he  drinks. 
On  the  next  morning  he  finds  himself  unable  to 
void  his  urine.  If  you  send  him  to  bed,  apply 
warmth,  and  give  him  Dover's  powder;  it  is  not 
improbable  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  the 
urine  will  begin  to  flow.  After  the  lapse  of  a  few 
more  hours  you  give  him  a  draught  of  infusion 
of  senna  and  sulphate  of  magnesia,  and  wken  this 
has  acted  on  the  bowels,  he  makes  water  in  a  full 
stream." 

As  the  affection  is  purely  a  local  one,  general 
treatment  cannot  be  relied  on  too  much,  as  no  time 
should  be  lost.  The  emergency  in  such  cases  are 
great,  and  require  prompt  and  efficient  action. 

Under  all  such  circumstances,  I  advise  that  a 
])hysician  should  be  called  if  practicable.  The 
object  and  aim  of  these  pages  is  not  to  discourage 
or  depreciate  the  services  of  physicians,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  to  elevate  the  standard  of  the  profession 
in  the  estimation  of  the  public,  and  particularly 
with  that  unfortunate  class  who  may  have  fallen 
into  the  greedy  grasp  of  medical  vultures,  whose 
scent  for  gold  is  prodigiou-s  and  unerring. 

INFLAMMATORY    STRICTURE. 

This  form  of  stricture  arises  usually  in  the  acute 
stage  of  Gonorrhoea,  or  from  the  improper  violence 
in  tlie  use  of  the  catheter  or  bougie.  The  symi)toms 
are  fever,  pain,  and  inability  to  make  water. 
Sliould  a  few  drops  escape,  tlie  torture  is  intense. 

Lec«:hes  to    the   groin    may  be   necessary,   but 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS,  133 

asaally  a  free  use  of  the  infusion  of  salts  and  senna, 
and  a  warm,  sitting  bath,  will  give  relief  in  a  few 
hours.  After  the  water  flows,  barley  water,  gum- 
arabic  water,  flax-seed  tea,  are  all  that  will  bo 
required.     Instruments  must  be  avoided. 

Young  men  are  almost  the  exclusive  subjects  of 
this  form  of  stricture. 

The  frequency  of  the  attack  will  depend  very 
much  upon  the  irritable  condition  of  the  system. 
The  difiiculty  is  a  spasm  of  the  urethra  near  the 
bladder,  and  sometimes  the  suddenness  of  the  attack 
and  the  severity  of  the  symptoms  are  extremely 
alarming  to  the  poor  sufferer  and  his  surrounding 
friends.  The  simple  form  which  Sir  Benjamin  has 
BO  beautifully  described,  and  which  we  have  just 
quoted,  may  become  greatly  aggravated  and  require 
further  treatment. 

The  desire  to  make  water  occurs  without  the 
ability  to  accomplish  it.  After  several  unsuccessful 
attempts,  the  patient  becomes  alarmed — he  now 
suffers  great  distress  in  the  region  of  the  bladder, 
and  not  unfrequently  pain  is  felt  in  the  end  of  the 
penis.  The  efforts  to  make  water  are  now  constant 
and  beyond  his  control,  the  muscles  of  the  abdomen 
contract  violently,  and  the  restlessness  and  con- 
tortions of  the  body  from  pain,  are  agonizing  to 
behold.  The  face  is  flushed,  the  tongue  coated  with 
a  white  fur,  the  pulse  hard  and  bounding,  the  skin 
hot,  and  the  countenance  of  the  patient  is  indicative 
of  the  most  excruciating  suffering 

PERMANENT    STRICTURES. 

In  th-e  present  form  under  consideration,  it  will 
be  borne  in  mind,  is  found  that  unpleasant  difficulty 


134  THE    DISEASES    OF 

which  is  j^eiicrally  undorstood  by  tiic  common  term 
Stricture. 

It  is  usiially  the  result  of  chronic  ixonorrhoca,  but 
may  occur  from  any  other  inflammation,  or  from 
injury.  It  is  quite  common  in  cases  of  seminal 
weakness. 

This  form  of  stricture  may  depend  npon  an 
alteration  of  the  surface  of  the  mucous  membrane, 
of  tlie  narrow  canal  or  urethra,  or  upon  a  thickening 
of  tliat  membrane  :  in  either  case  there  exists  a, 
mechnnical  obstacle  to  the  passage  of  the  urine. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate,  in  a  popular 
work  like  this,  the  various  alterations  of  stricture, 
from  ulceration,  fungus  or  warty  excrescences,  etc., 
as  it  will  be  of  but  little  practical  value  to  the 
unprofessional  reader. 

The  situation  of  Stricture  is  more  commonly  met 
with  in  the  membranous  and  bulbous  portions  of  the 
canal,  near  the  neck  of  the  bladder;  but  any  part 
of  tlie  urethra  may  be  their  seat. 

The  accompanying  cuts  will  give  a  correct  idea 
of  Strictures,  although  they  are  generally  more 
simple- 

SYMPTOMS    OF    STRICTURE. 

Persons  may  have  Stricture  for  a  long  time  if 
they  are  inattentive,  or  ignorant  of  the  earlier 
symptoms  of  its  incipient  stage.  Tlie  water  ])asses 
with  less  freedom  than  natural,  and  finally  the 
stream  becomes  smaller  and  smaller,  and  spirts 
out  in  several  spiral  or  cork-screw  streams,  soiling 
the  clothes  or  drop])ing  upon  th-c  feet  of  the  patient 
drop  by  drop,  requiring  time  and  patience  to  evacu- 
ate  the    bladder.      Sometimes    persons    have    no 


THE  GENERATIVE  ORGANS.  137 

control  over  their  hydraulic  powers,  there  being  an 
almost  constant  dribbling  away  of  water. 

In  chronic  bad  cases,  the  prostate  gland,  neck 
of  the  bladder,  ureters  and  kidneys,  become  in- 
flamed, ulcerated  or  gangrened,  gravel  and  stone 
will  be  formed,  and  the  rest  of  his  short  life  be 
almost  intolerable.  The  prostate  gland  will  sup- 
purate, and  it  has  long  been  observed,  (and  I  have 
cured  many  such  cases,)  in  bad  cases  of  stricture, 
the  urethra  becomes  so  impervious  during  erection, 
that  the  sperm  cannot  be  ejaculated,  but  escapes 
with  the  urine  when  the  penis  is  flaccid. 

Gleet  may  be  the  only  symptom  of  stricture; 
therefore  it  often  leads  one  to  the  cause  of  a  long 
continued  running,  which  may  assume  all  the  ap- 
pearance, at  times,  of  genuine  clap.  Sometimes, 
nothing  but  little  shreds  of  mucous  is  discharged 
resembling,  by  the  magnifying  powers  of  a  hypo- 
chondriacal imagination,  vermicelli  or  worms. 

This  bug-bear  is  held  up  in  silly  and  injurious 
books,  to  frighten  patients  to  apply  to  the  quacks, 
who  practices  copious  depletion  of  the  Purse;  and 
the  practice  is  wonderfully  efficacious,  allaying  all 
apprehension  of  the  devouring  propensities  of  these 
animals. 

M.  Ricord,  a  French  Surgeon  of  great  eminence 
on  Venereal  and  Genito-Urinary  Diseases,  says, 
"  I  am  well  aware,  that  strictures  are  often  more 
quickly  cured  in  proportion  as  they  are  early 
treated."  But  I  have  permanently  relieved  strict- 
tures  which  had  existed  for  ten  to  twenty  years,  in 
nearly  as  many  minutes. 

The  practice  of  allowing  instruments  to  remain 
in  the  bladder  during  the  night,  as  well  as  their 
frequent  use,  are  not  only  unnecessary,  but  exceed- 


138  THE    DISEASES    OF 

ingly  miscliievous.  I  am  often  consulted  by  per* 
sons  who  have  pursued  such  a  pernicious  course  of 
treatment,  who  labor  under  all  the  distressing 
symptoms  of  irritation  of  the  neck  of  the  bladder, 
or  from  chronic  inflammation  of  the  prostate  gland 
and  bladder. 

I  shall  not  go  into  a  discussion  of  the  pathologi 
cal  results  of  the  treatment  of  stricture  by  the  use 
of  the  bougie. 

It  has  been  my  design  from  the  first  time  I  put 
my  pen  to  paper  in  view  of  writing  a  practical 
treaties,  to  avoid  enticing  indulgence  in  theories 
and  vain  speculation. 

The  genius  of  th-e  age,  is  practical,  and  especially 
so  in  this  Yankee  part  of  Christendom,  wnen  all 
the  elements  and  nature  are  whipped  into  the  traces, 
and  guided  by  the  practical  hand  in  the  race  of 
wind,  steam  and  lightning.  Truly,  the  awful  thun- 
der-bolts of  heaven  have  been  tamed,  and  are 
being  sent  at  will,  by  the  commands  of  the  humble 
creature,  man. 

DISEASE    OF    THE    PROSTATE    GLAND, 

Symptoms. — Those  who  labor  under  disease  of  the 
prostate  gland,  experience  uncomfortable  or  painful 
sensations  in  the  affected  parts,  or  in  the  space 
between  the  scrotum  and  anus,  or  near  the  margin 
of  the  latter,  which  vary  in  different  individuals, 
and  the  extent  of  the  disease.  The  symptoms  are 
increased  during  the  evacuation  of  the  bowels,  or 
urine,  also  after  exertion  on  foot  or  horseback,  or 
vehicle  riding.  Tlie  sufferer  experiences  frequent 
and  urgent  desire  to  urinate,  which  is  often  felt  so 
suddenly  that  it  is  irresistible;  he  will  feel  more  or 
less  pain  near  the  neck  of  the  bladder,  particularly 


m 


THE  GENERATIVE  ORGANS.  141 

at  the  commencement  and  termination  of  the  flow 
of  urine.  He  will  feel  as  though  there  was  more 
urine  coming  out,  but  he  will  not  see  it  till  after 
the  penis  becomes  pendant. 

Such  cases  are  extremely  common  in  aged  men, 
or  those  who  have  abused  the  sexual  function. 
The  patients  often  suffer  from  Stricture,  or  some- 
times almost  obliteration  of  the  urethra,  within  an 
inch  or  so  of  the  prostate.  I  have  cured  many 
patients  of  this  complaint. 

Chronic  Inflammation  of  the  Neck  of  the 
Bladder. — It  is  evident  that  there  is  a  close  afiinity 
between  diseases  of  the  prostatic  portion  of  the 
urethra  and  those  of  the  neck  of  the  bladder.  In- 
flammation of  the  urinary  canal,  may  not  only 
extend  along  its  whole  extent  from  the  external 
orifice,  but  to  the  neck  of  the  bladder,  prostate 
gland,  orifices  of  the  seminal  ducts,  seminal  recepta- 
cles, deferent  ducts,  and  testicles,  but  also  along  the 
inner  or  mucous  surface  of  the  bladder,  hence  along 
the  ureters,  and  from  these  to  the  kidneys.  There 
are  some  superficially  informed  physicians  who  con- 
sider Gonorrhoea  a  very  trifling  disease,  but  their 
ignorance  can  only  estimate  its  commonest  symp- 
toms. This  distressing  complaint  will  often  last  a 
lifetime,  as  I  have  before  stated.  It  often  lays 
the  foundation  of  many  incurable  diseases,  not  only 
oi"  the  genito-urinary  organs,  but  likewise  of  those 
iu  the  head,  chest,  and  abdomen.  Purulent  dis- 
charges are  almost  always  present  in  diseases  of  the 
prostate  and  bladder.  A  severe  cold,  excessive 
use  of  spirituous  liquors,  or  too  frequent  coition, 
will  probably  be  the  first  warning  the  patient  wil! 
have  of  his  unfortunate  situation. 


142  THE   DISEASES    OP 

I  will  here  warn  persons  ap;ainst  the  habit  of  re- 
taining the  urine  in  the  bladder  after  nature  has 
exhibited,  by  the  desire,  the  fact  tliat  her  calls 
should  be  attended  to,  and  the  bladder  should  be 
evacuated  at  once. 

Irritation  of  the  Testes. — When  the  testicles 
are  excited  or  irritated,  they  secrete  a  much  greater 
quantity  of  semen  than  in  an  ordinary  condition; 
and  this  sperm  is  more  watery  and  much  less 
elaborated,  and  remains  a  shorter  time  in  its  recep- 
tacles, in  which  its  watery  parts  are  absorbed, 
while  it  is  much  more  promptly  evacuated,  because 
the  seminal  receptacles  are  more  sensitive  to  its 
excitement,  and  therefore  more  readily  contract. 
This  causes  impoteucy  in  many  men,  as  the  penis  no 
sooner  touches  the  female  genitals  than  the  semen 
oozes  out,  the  erection  of  course  goes  down,  and 
will  probably  remain  so  for  hours.  And  then,  when 
again  erected,  they  are  subjected  to  the  same  dis- 
appointment and  mortification.  Hundreds  of  young 
and  old  men,  newly  married,  have  been  placed  in  tliis 
horrible  situation  for  weeks  without  accomplishing 
the  marital  duties,  and  then — notwithstanding  their 
persevering  efforts — have  been  obliged  to  apply  to 
me  to  cure  them.  I  have  at  least  one  or  two  such 
patients,  always  under  my  care.  It  is  not  necessary 
for  me  to  ever  hint  at  the  situation  of  the  poor 
female,  who  has  been  tantalized  for  such  a  great 
length  of  time,  for  I  cannot  think  there  is  a  man 
heartless  enough  to  marry  if  he  is  aware  of  his 
unfortunate  situation.  Tiie  object  of  this  work  is 
to  guard  and  enlighten  Doth  sexes. 

It  is  evident  from  tiie  foregoing  statements,  that 
the  kidneys,   ureters,   bladder,  vesiculae  seminal&s 


Fig:  28. 


Ft.^;  29 


Fig.  28.  The  Scrotum  distondi-d  to  its  utmost 
extent,  and  the  position  of  the  fluid.  The  Penis  is 
almost  always  more  oi-  less  drawn  up,  and  in  severe 
cases  it  appears  drawn  up  so  as  scarcely  to  be  per* 
ceptible. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGAN'S.  I'lo 

and  testicles,  are  under  the  influence  of  tbc  samo 
causes,  which  produce  the  same  effect. 

Varicocele  and  Hydrocele. — Arise  from  maS' 
turbation,  venereal  excesses,  diseases,  etc.  We 
often  see  venous  enlargements  of  the  spermatic 
cord  from  all  such  causes.  Circocde  and  Varicocele 
generally  occur  from  the  adult  to  old  age,  from  these 
causes. 

Diseases  of  the  Kidneys  and  Ureters. — The 
same  excesses  will  disease  these  organs. 

Infiltration  of  Urine,  caused  by  stricture  or 
inflammation,  will  soon  destroy  the  Testes,  Scrotum, 
and  Penis,  and,  of  course,  terminate  in  death. 

Hemorrhoidal  and  other  circum-anal  diseases  arise 
from  the  same  causes. 

Irritation  of  the  Vagina  and  Uterus  frequently 
causes  Sterility,  Schirrus,  and  Cancer  occasionally. 
Venereal  excesses  of  whatever  kind  will  produce 
Uterine  Hcemorrhage. 

Vegetations. — The  urethra  and  vaginal  discharge 
is  so  acrid  in  many  cases  as  to  excoriate  the  labia, 
and  to  give  rise  to  excrescences  or  vegetations, 
which  sometimes  is  succeeded  by  ulceration  or 
sloughing. 

Phymosis  and  Paraphymosis. — When  the  pre- 
puce is  inflamed  and  swollen,  so  that  it  cannot  be 
drawn  behind  the  glans  penis,  the  disease  is  termed 
Phymosis  ;  and  when  this  part,  after  it  has  been 
drawn  behind  the  glans,  and  cannot  be  drawn  over 
it,  the  disease  is  called  Paraphymosis.  In  either 
case,  there  is  danger  of  inflammation,  sloughing 
(mortification),  and  more  or  less  destruction  of  the 


146  THE    DISEASES    OF 

penis.  In  cases  of  phymosis,  when  the  glans  can. 
not  be  uncovered,  the  internal  membrane  of  the 
prepuce  becomes  inflamed  from  the  accumuhition 
of  the  natural  secretion,  or  from  tlie  acrid  matter 
of  chancres,  or  urethritis,  and  an  artificial  opening 
may  be  caused  by  ulceration. 

There  is  natural  or  congenital  phymosis,  which 
impedes  the  urine;  also  in  adults,  compressing  the 
glans,  (head  of  penis,)  during  erection,  thereby 
preventing  proper  sexual  commerce.  In  case  the 
contraction  of  the  prepuce  is  so  small  as  to  obstruct 
the  evacuation  of  urine,  after  it  has  escaped  from 
the  urethra,  irritation,  inflammation,  or  sloughing, 
will  ensue.  Cases  of  rapid  sloughing,  and  destruc- 
tion of  the  penis  in  aged  and  other  persons,  are 
quite  frequent.  All  persons  thus  aflfected,  should 
immediately  apply  for  proper  treatment.  I  relieve 
many  such  persons,  in  a  simple  manner,  without 
leaving  any  traces  of  their  former  trouble  very 
quickly,  so  that  in  a  day  or  two  they  are  well. 

Enlargement  of  the  Epididymus  and  Spermatic 
CoRD.-^This  disease  often  follows  inflammation  of 
the  testicle,  and  may  impede  the  transmission  of  the 
semen  to  its  proper  receptacles. 

Syphilis. — History  of  the  Symptoms  of  Vene- 
real Diseases. — I  have  already  stated  that  vene- 
real diseases  are  divided  into  two  orders;  to  the 
first,  I  have  sufficiently  directed  the  attention  of 
my  readers.  Tiiere  remains,  however,  the  second 
division,  which  is  vastly  of  more  importance,  if  con- 
sidered in  relation  to  the  general  and  constitutional 
results,  which  are  the  direct  consequence  of  the 
primary  affection. 


PLATE    li 


tut  30 


Fia  31 


K^f  32 


THE  GENERATIVE  ORGANS.  140 

Syphilis  is  a  virulent  aflFection,  the  essential 
character  of  which  is  its  dependence  upon  a  special 
cause,  or  a  distinct  vims.  The  first  stage  includes 
primary  symptoms,  as  Chancre,  (a  pimple  or  ulcer,) 
the  specific  cause,  from  the  special  virus  or  poisonous 
matter  whicli  has  been  deposited.  The  second  stage 
embraces  constitiUional  symptoms,  which  follow  as  a 
consequence  of  absorption  of  the  virus,  and  which  is 
hereditary,  and  in  my  opinion  capable  of  transmis- 
sion by  inoculation.  Example,  various  affections 
of  the  skin,  and  mucous  membranes,  Enlargement 
of  the  Glands,  Scrofula,  etc.  The  third  stage  com- 
prehends Tertiary  symptoms,  which  can  be  trans- 
mitted, and  is  hereditary.  This  is  the  stage  that 
principally  affects  the  bones. 

The  destructive  effects  of  the  Yenereal  Disease  is 
becoming  so  generally  known,  that  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  describe  them  minutely,  though  there  are 
many  persons  even  yet,  who  do  not  estimate  the 
full  extent  of  their  direful  consequences  on  health, 
reproduction,  and  longevity;  A  close  and  exten- 
sive observation  in  different  institutions,  established 
for  the  cure  of  venereal  diseases,  as  well  as  a  very 
extensive  private  practice  for  many  years,  has 
enabled  me  to  bring  the  treatment  of  the  various 
forms  of  these  formidable  maladies,  almost  to  per- 
fection. My  present  purpose  is  not  to  give  a 
minute  account  of  all  the  ravages  of  these  horribly 
disgusting  and  malignant  complaints,  I  shall  con- 
fine myself,  therefore,  to  a  few  general  remarks  on 
their  primary  and  constitutional  effects  on  the 
human  body,  in  the  different  conditions  of  life. 

Primary  SYMPTvnis. — The  first  appearance  of 
Syphilis,  is  a  small  vesicle  on  the  glans,  prepuce,  or 


l50  THE    DISEASES    OF 

other  part  of  the  penis  and  testicles  of  the  male,  or 
on  the  hxbia,  vagina,  or  uterns,  of  the  female.  This 
is  called  a  Chancre.  It  arises  from  the  a})plication 
of  the  syphilitic  virus,  on  a  delicate  or  abrased  sur- 
face, from  which  it  is  speedily  absorbed,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  virus  of  a  rabid  animal,  the  virus  of 
small-pox,  or  of  vaccination — only  not  in  so  rapid 
a  manner — is  conveyed  into  the  body.  The  whole 
system  becomes  sooner  or  later  infected,  and  a  vast 
number  of  diseases  are  developed.  Amongst  these 
are  Buboes  or  Venereal  Swellings  of  the  glands  of 
the  groin,  ulceration  of  the  throat,  a  vast  number 
of  cutaneous  eruptions,  which  at  first  are  generally 
of  a  copper  color,  though  they  may  assume  the 
natural  appearances  of  ordinary  skin  diseases. 
These  symptoms  are  accompanied  or  succeeded  by 
pains  of  the  shin  and  other  long  bones,  as  the  arms, 
and  even  the  bones  of  the  head,  which  are  greatly 
aggravated  at  night,  (I  now  have  two  patients  that 
were  so  situated,)  so  as  to  prevent  sleep,  destroy 
the  appetite  and  general  health,  and  are  often  fol- 
lowed by  inflammation  and  swelling  of  some  por- 
tions of  the  periosteum,  most  commonly  on  the  tibia 
or  shin,  instep,  back,  or  palm  of  the  hand.  Bones 
thus  affected  are  termed  Nodes. 

In  numerous  cases  there  is  partial  or  total  des- 
truction by  ulceration  of  the  virile  membQi*6,  and 
of  the  female  genitals,  of  the  palate,  cartilages  of 
the  nose,  warts,  vegetations  or  excrescences  on  the 
glans  penis,  or  labia  pudendi,  various  abscesses, 
pustules  and  fissures  in  different  parts  of  the  body; 
there  are  nervous,  neuralgic  and  rheumatic  pains, 
falling  off  of  the  hair,  phthisis,  and  very  frequently 
death  closes  the  scene.  Vision  is  often  destroyed 
by  the  form  of  ophthalmia,  (iritis,)  there  are  severe 


34. 


PLATE    Ifi, 
35.  36. 


39. 


41. 


THE    GENERATIVE    ORGANS.  1,53 

pains  in  tlie  bones,  enlargement  termed  exostosis, 
and  sometimes  caries  or  mortification,  and  at  other 
times,  brittleness  of  tlie  bones,  which  cause  them  to 
fracture  on  the  slightest  occasion. 

The  ravages  of  Syphilis  are  often  hideous,  and 
when  the  destruction  has  become  extensive,  is  some- 
times incurable.  In  other  cases,  supposed  to  be 
cured,  the  disease  remains  latent  in  the  constitution 
for  many  years,  is  transmitted  to  the  offspring,  or 
destroys  the  foetus  in  the  womb.  Sometimes  it 
.causes  sterility.  We  often  observe  this  disease  in- 
ducing infecundity  and  death.  In  some  cases,  there 
is  ulceration  of  the  parts,  between  the  bladder  and 
vagina,  and  the  latter  and  rectum,  so  that  the  urine 
and  foeces  are  evacuated  through  the  vagina,  form- 
ing a  most  loathsome  and  painful  disease. 

When  the  venereal  contamination  of  either  pa- 
rent is  very  considerable,  though  not  apparent,  the 
infant  will  be  born  dead,  between  the  seventh  and 
eighth  month,  in  a  state  of  putrefaction.  It  often 
happens  that  women  have  six  or  eight  infants  in 
rapid  succession,  which  are  born  dead  and  decom- 
posed, in  consequence  of  partially  cured  syphilis  in 
the  father.  A  man  who  has  no  external  sign  of 
syphilis,  and  who  has  been  declared  cured  by  his 
physician,  and  advised  to  marry,  may  contaminate 
his  wife  and  offspring  in  various  degrees,  so  that  his 
infant  may  be  born  feeble,  or  covered  around  the 
genitals  or  mouth  with  red  or  dark  copper-colored 
eruption.  This  may  appear  soon  after  birth.  In 
primary  syphilis  of  the  mother,  the  infant  will  be 
liable  to  come  in  contact  with  the  venereal  sore, 
which  would  cause  a  chancre  on  the  lip,  eye,  etc. 
A  sore  on  the  hp  of  the  infant  would  infect  the 
nipple  of  a  healthy  woman,  who  would  then  infect 


154  RECOXnARY 

every  one  toiicliirii^  it.  Gonorrliceal  ophthalmia, 
will  he  contracted  by  the  infant  during  its  nativity 
— if  the  mother  is  infected — and  will  lose  its  sight 
in  a  few  days  unless  proper  and  prompt  treatment 
is  adopted. 

A  female  can,  and  should  be  cured  of  gonorrhoea 
when  pregnant,  so  that  the  infant  will  not  be 
affected,  (I  now  have  a  case  of  the  kind,)  but  thi 
fatus  cannot  be  purified  of  hereditary  syphilis. 
The  mother,  however,  should  be  treated  without 
dehiy. 

A  man  may  be  relieved  of  a  gonorrhoja,  and  be 
affected  in  no  otiier  way,  excepting  a  slight  gleet, 
or  a  thin  watery  discharge  from  the  urethra,  for 
years,  but  if  he  gets  married  or  cohabits  with  a 
healthy  woman,  he  will  infect  her.  The  frequency 
of  venereal  complaints  is  much  greater  than  the  pub- 
lic imagine.  1  very  often  cure  boys  and  girls  tiiat 
have  scarcely  arrived  at  puberty  even.  Young  and 
diffident  persons  often  conceal  their  situation,  until 
their  disease  becomes  alarming,  and  then  the  suf- 
ferer will  probably  apply  for  advice  to  advertising 
empirics,  or  use  quack  medicines,  which,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten,  allow  the  disease  to  poison  or 
destroy  the  constitution.  The  proper  advice  should 
be  sought,  and  medicines  taken  on  the  first  appear- 
ance of  the  disease,  if  the  afflicted  would  save 
themselves  from  suffering. 

Transmission  of  the  Venereal  Virus. — The 
venereal  virus  may  be  transmitted  in  a  few  hours, 
and  not  in  many  days.  When  it  is  not  absorbed  at 
the  time  of  coition,  immediate  washing  of  the  parts 
will  often  prevent  infection.  I  say,  if  it  is  not 
absorbed  at  the  time  of  coition.     What  I  mean  by 


PLATE    r 


SYPHILIS.  167 

this,  is,  that  if  the  penis  is  washed  before  it  becomes 
flaccid,  (erection  goes  down,)  infection  will  often  be 
prevented;  but,  if  the  poisonous  matter  has  entered 
the  little  follicles  or  pores  of  the  skin,  which  are 
opened  in  full  erection,  and  close — shutting  it  in  as 
the  penis  becomes  flaccid — it  cannot  but  be  plain  to 
every  one,  that  it  is  utterly  impossible  then  to  pre- 
vent the  development  of  the  disease.  The  quack 
washes,  therefore,  to  be  used  as  an  injection  for  the 
urethra,  or  external  lotion,  are  mere  humbugs,  and 
worse  than  useless.  Wearing  a  covering  for  the 
penis,  is  the  only  thing  that  will  prevent  inoculation. 
The  conveyance  of  any  venereal  matter  to  a 
mucous  surface,  such  as  the  lip,  eye,  nostril,  anus, 
nipple,  or  to  any  part  where  the  skin  is  tender  or 
broken,  will  communicate  the  disease.  Excoria- 
tions of  the  glans  penis,  prepuce  and  labia,  are 
easily  distinguished  from  chancres,  and  are  mere 
local  affections  which  cannot  contaminate  the  sys- 
tem. Venereal  diseases  can  be  contracted  from 
water-closets,  privies,  from  paper  or  metalic  money, 
washing  in  the  sau>e  wash-dish,  wiping  on  the  same 
towel,  or  using  the  same  lather-brush  and  razor. 
I  have  cured  patients  who  contracted  the  disease  as 
above  stated.  As  soon  as  a  pimple  or  little  blister 
has  formed,  after  an  impure  connexion,  on  any  part 
of  the  genitals,  it  should  be  properly  treated  at 
once. 


SECONDARY,    OR    COXSTITUTIONAL    SYPHILIS. 

When  venereal  ulcers  or  eruptions  appear,  after 
a  primary  sore,  on  any  part  of  the  body,  as  the 
face,  throat,  chest,  back,  thighs,  etc.,  the  constitu- 
tion is  affected,  and  a  judicious  treatment  must  be 


158  svriiiLTs. 

employed  at  once,  and  continued  for  months  after  all 
symptoms  have  entirely  disappeared.  The  actual 
leng^th  of  time  necessary  to  continue  the  use  of 
medicines  varies  in  different  persons,  and  no  one 
who  is  not  experienced  in  this  class  of  diseases  can 
safely  give  advice  regarding  it. 

It  is  important  to  distinguish  pseudo-syphilis 
from  the  real  disease,  which  is  often  a  very  difficult 
matter. 

Persons  will  have  secondary  syphilis  and  not 
have  buboes.  The  symptoms  of  such  a  constitu- 
tional affection  may  show  themselves  in  eight  days, 
and  may  not  in  years,  as  I  have  stated.  The  term 
secondary  is  used  to  designate  the  morbid  phe- 
nomena which  appear  on  the  skin,  mucous  mem- 
brane, eye,  testicles,  etc.  When  the  skin  is  at  first 
affected,  it  may  appear  like  measles.  The  spots, 
however,  will  soon  lose  their  rosy  color,  and 
assume  a  coppery  hue,  or  they  may  disappear 
altogether.  It  may  first  appear  in  little  pimples, 
or  have  a  scaly  appearance,  or  like  chicken-pox, 
or  the  pustular  form,  which  is  generally  very 
chronic  in  its  course.  Tliis  form  affects  the  health 
more  than  any  other.  There  is  another  variety 
which  appears  on  the  scalp.  A  crust  is  formed 
around  the  roots  of  the  hair,  which,  as  often  as 
rubbed  off,  is  reproduced  by  a  thick  viscid  secre- 
tion, matting  the  hair  together;  it  is  usually  con- 
fined to  a  few  spots,  but  the  whole  hair  becomes 
affected,  loses  its  lustre,  gets  dry,  falls  off,  and  the 
patient  may  become  bald.  The  glands  in  the  neck 
may  often  be  enlarged;  it  often  .accompanies  the 
other  forms  of  secondary  syphilis. 

The  tubercular  form  may  be  little  hard  tumors, 
or  become  ulcers.     It  may  often  be  seen   on  the 


SYi'Hir.is.  159 

face,  nose,  or  at  the  angles  of  the  month,  around  the 
anus,  labia,  groin,  scrotum,  lining  of  the  prepuce, 
umbilicus,  between  the  toes,  and  in  the  arm-pits. 
When  ulcerated,  it  secretes  an  acrid  matter,  which 
causes  irritation,  and  produces  an  ofifensive  odor;  it 
may  remain  stationary,  or  rapidly  extend. 

SYPHILITIC    AFFECTIONS    OF    THE    MUCOUS    MEMBRANE, 
MOUTH    AND    THROAT. 

Every  portion  of  mucous  membrane  which  the 
eye  can  observe  is  like  the  skin,  subject  to  become 
the  seat  of  secondary  symptoms,  as  the  lips,  inside 
of  the  cheeks,  tongue,  fauces,  and  throat;  not  only 
the  margin  of  the  anus,  but  the  inside  of  the  intes- 
tine itself,  qjso  the  lining  of  the  prepuce.  The  vulva, 
vagina,  and  neck  of  the  womb  are  also  affected. 
The  tliroat,  from  its  functions,  is  frequently  exposed 
to  changes  of  temperature,  and  feels  the  effects  of 
all  excesses.  A  primary,  as  well  as  secondary 
affection  of  th*e  mouth  and  throat,  may  exist.  The 
symptoms  of  these  affections,  in  the  commencement, 
are  only  slight  irritation  or  swelling,  but  if  inflam- 
mation follows,  the  usual  symptoms  of  sore-throat 
will  occur,  and  the  general  symptoms  may  be  severe. 

TERTIARY    SYPHILITIC    AFFECTIONS. 

This  is  a  more  advanced  form  of  syphilis  than 
any  we  have  heretofore  mentioned.  Most  frequently 
(in  shattered  constitutions,  or  in  persons  reduced 
by  the  combined  effects  of  dissipation  and  bad 
treatment)  some  pain  is  felt  in  the  throat  or  tongue; 
there  is  a  thickness  of  the  speech,  wdiich  at  hrs*  excites 
but  little  attention,  but  it  will  soon  expose  a  tawny- 


160  SYPHILIS. 

colored  ulcer,  which  may  expose  the  bone,  or  the 
palate-bone  may  be  destroyed,  and  a  coniniunk-ation 
exist  between  the  mouth  and  nose.  The  whole 
back  upper  part  of  the  mouth  will  be  more  or  less 
affected.  Not  unfrequently  pustular  eruptions, 
forming  scabs,  appear  on  the  extremities,  and  the 
general  emaciation  continues;  the  countenance  has 
now  a  cadaverous  appearance,  and  the  pulse  be 
speaks  the  general  feebleness  of  the  patient,  who, 
if  not  relieved  by  proper  treatment,  sinks  under  the 
combined  effects  of  colliquative  sweats,  diarrhoea, 
great  suppuration,  and  want  of  sleep,  from  severe 
pain  in  the  bones  and  joints,  and  loss  of  appetite. 
Such  is  a  concise  sketch  of  the  most  frequent  form 
of  tertiary  syphilitic  sore-throat,  with  its  accom- 
panying symptoms,  not  to  be  mistaken  when  once 
witnessed.  Sometimes  little  hard  tumors,  varying 
in  size  from  that  of  a  pea  to  a  hazel-nut,  which,  if 
not  properly  treated,  will  soon  proceed  so  that  the 
speech  will  be  very  much  interfered  with. 

SYPHILITIC    AFFECTIONS    OF   THE    EYE. 

The  eye,  like  the  skin  and  throat,  may  become 
affected  by  syphilis  in  each  of  its  different  forms- 
primary,  secondary  and  tertiary.  The  importance 
of  the  organ,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  the  dis- 
ease can  destroy  the  tissues  composing  it,  deserve 
the  particular  attention  of  the  reader. 

This  affection  is  usually  ushered  in  by  consider- 
able constitutional  disturbance,  headache,  inability 
to  sleep  from  constant  pain  over  the  brow,  which 
is  aggravated  in  damp  weather,  and  in  the  evening. 
The  eye  cannot  bear  a  strong  light,  and  there  u 
usually  more  or  less  redness  of  the  ball  or  lids.     It 


PLATE    18. 


Fig  46 


Fig.  4/ 


TERTIARY    SVrilll-TS.  168 

may  appear  on   the  eyelids  in  the  form  of  nicer 
ations. 

In  a  case  of  direct  inoculation  of  the  eye  by  the 
primary  syphilitic  virus,  which  often  happens  by 
carelessness,  in  not  keeping  the  hands  washed  clean, 
or  wiping  them  on  a  cloth,  which  should  be  destroyed 
after  such  use.  The  affection  will  present  nearly 
the  same  appearance  and  condition  as  a  chancre  on 
the  genitals,  only  the  discharge  from  the  sore  will 
rapidly  spread  over  the  whole  eye,  and  if  the 
patient  is  not  careful  while  lying  down  or  asleep,  it 
will  come  in  contact  with  the  other  eye,  and  both 
will  be  destroyed  if  the  disease  is  not  immediately 
checked. 


SYPHILITIC    AFFECTIONS    OF    THE    TESTICLES. 

Some  months  after  the  occurrence  of  the  primary 
symptoms,  the  patient  will  complain  of  vague  pains 
in  one  or  both  testicles,  particularly  felt  toward 
night,  and  w^hich  shoot  upward  toward  the  loins. 
In  some  instances  no  pain  is  felt,  and  the  patient 
is  surprised  at  finding  one  or  both  testicles  gradu- 
ally enlarging,  with  a  very  considerable  inconve- 
nience from  their  weight.  The  functions  of  the 
organs  will  become  impaired  if  the  disease  is  not 
speedily  arrested,  and  the  correct  treatment  fol- 
lowed up  for  mouths,  so  that  the  disease  will  be 
thoroughly  eradicated  from  the  system. 

TERTIARY    SYPHILIS. 

This  constitutional  affection  is  included  under  the 
name  of  Nodes,  inflammaiion  of  the  periosteum, 
exostosis,  caries,  arul  tubercles.     Its  destructions 


164  TERTTAP.V    .^YPniTJg. 

are  principally  confined  to  the  bones.  "Wlicn  the 
cellular  tissue  is  affected,  small  tumors  will  first  be 
observed,  either  isolated  or  occurring  on  various 
parts  of  the  body.  They  may  not  be  noticed  much 
for  some  months.  They  may  be  hard  and  un- 
attached to  the  adjacent  structures.  It  may  make 
its  way  to  the  surface,  nlccrate,  and  then  heal,  but 
no  sooner  has  one  disappeared  than  another  shows 
itself. 

TERTIARY  SYMPTOMS  AS  THEY  OCCUR  IN  THE  OSSEOUS 
SYSTEM. 

The  first  symptoms  of  the  aifection  of  the  bones, 
consists  in  pain  at  first  vague,  or  like  rheumatism; 
they  will  generally  become  fixed  to  particular  bones 
sooner  or  later,  and  become  more  severe  at  night. 
There  are  three  varieties  of  Periostitis. 

Ostitis,  shows  the  same  preference  for  particular 
regions.  After  having  existed  a  long  time  without 
giving  other  indications  of  its  presence  than  pain, 
the  swelling  it  nltimately  gives  rise  to  betrays  it- 
self externally.  In  other  cases  it  may  give  rise  to 
parenchymatous,  exostosis,  or  hyperostose. 


In  the  second  part  of  this  work  will  be  found  a 
great  number  of  illustrative  cases  of  all  the  diseases 
which  have  been  mentioned,  in  the  shape  of  certifi- 
cates of  cures,   and  I  shall  pass  on  to  that  part. 

Enough,  I  think,  has  been  shown  to  convince  the 
most  unthinking  individual  who  may  peruse  these 
pages,  of  tlie  evils  and  miseries  induced  by  venereal 
abuses,  excesses,  and  diseases. 


PLATE   19. 


Fig.  49 


^^4:^ 


v.: 


£-^' 


fyol 


167 

Special  Notice  of  Injuries  Received  by  Patients  from  Inexpe- 
rienced Physicians,  Quacks,  and  their  Kemedies. 

As  we  have  but  this  additional  page  to  give  the 
statements  of  a  lew  more  patients,  of  the  injuries 
they  received  from  treatment  they  had  submitted 
to  previous  to  applying  to  ns,  we  merety  give 
their  initials,  and  the  most  dangerous  symptoms 
they  were  laboring  under  at  the  time  of  such  ap- 
plicatiou.  All  of  them  can  be  seen  in  full,  at  our 
offices,  but  of  course  without  their  names. 

November  15,  1858. — A.,  Georgia.  I  have  tried  this  physi- 
cian, and  that,  using  copaiba,  nitrate  of  silver,  and  other 
caustics  for  seventeen  months,  till  I  almost  despaired  of  be- 
ing cured.  I  have  nocturnal  emissions,  continual  burning  in, 
and  discharge  from  the  urethra;  my  semen  is  as  thin  as  wa- 
ter, and  can  only  partially  cohabit  with  a  woman.     J.  L.  0. 

October  26, 1858. — I  have  a  continual  desire  to  pass  urine, 
and  cannot  retain  it;  am  totally  unable  to  cohabit  with  a 
woman  ;  loose  semen  nights,  with  urine,  and  at  stool ;  1  paid 
about  $150  for  Triesemar,  but  received  no  benefit.  C.  F., 
N.  Y.,  April  3.  1858. 

W.  N.  13.,  N.  Y.,  was  treated  for  nine  months  by  one  of 
New  York's  most  eminent  professors  without  benefit,  but  we 
cured  him  in  about  a  month. 

January  19,  1858. — R.  T.  B.,  Va.,  applied  with  noctui'nal 
emissions  weekly  ;  total  paralysis  of  the  penis  ;  muddy  and 
shredy  urine  ;  pain  and  constant  desire  to  pass  it,  day  and 
night ;  yellowish  discbarge  from  the  urethra,  after  using 
acids  or  stimulents,  or  with  a  cold  ;  scrotum  relaxed,  and 
testes  swollen  ;  sleeplessness,  giddiness,  acidity  of  and  wind 
in  stomach,  and  bowels  ;  gloomy.  Had  been  confined  to  the 
house  a  number  of  months,  though  he  had  been  under  the 
treatment  of  a  number  of  the  best  physicians,  more  or  less, 
for  years.     We  cured  him  in  a  few  mouths. 

November  30,  1857. — \V.  R..  Iowa,  came  with  nocturnal 
emissions  every  week  ;  weak  back  ;  a  tea-spoonful  of  a 
sandy  looking  sediment  in -the  urine  that  stood  over  night ; 
constant  desire  to  pass  urine  night  and  day  ;  partial  erec- 
"tions  ;  iritis ;  had  been  cauterized  a  number  of  times  ;  cured 
by  us  in  four  months. 


PART  II. 


PARTICULAR  CAUTION. 


Avoid  all  quack  or  advertised  remedies  for  any  disease,  espe- 
cially venereal,  and  all  of  tlie  instruments  advertised  to  cure 
Seminal  Emissions,  as  they  are  injurious  quack  humbugs. 

Within  tlie  past  year  or  two,  there  have  arisen  a  number  of 
muslu-oom  doctors,  pretending  to  be  from  Hospitals  in  tlie  dif- 
lerent  cities  of  Europe,  or  students  of  eminent  men,  such  as 
Ilicord,  Acton,  etc.,  etc.,  using  their  medicines,-  m-cdicated 
bougies,  rectum  suppositories,  etc.,  etc.,  whose  injured  and 
uncured  patients  we  are  curing  every  week.  Another  caution, 
to  save  yourselves  from  imposition  in  our  own  building,  bo 
certain  you  see  our  No.,  047  Broadway,  and  tlie  silver  plates 
on  each  side  of  the  door,  stating  the  "  Physician's  Consulting 
Rooms  are  on  the  second  floor,"  where,  upon  ascending  the 
stairs,  as  directed,  you  will  see  our  names  upon  silver  door 
plates,  cu  the  doors  of  the  offices. 


169 


PREFACE. 

This  work  has  been  hastily  prepared,  in  fact,  waa  uot 
oommenced  until  within  the  last  few  months,  except  the 
cases  taken  from  my  note-book,  and  has  been  prose- 
cuted amidst  the  most  pressing  professional  engage- 
ments. Notwithstanding  these  disadvantages,  I  flatter 
myself  that  it  will  answer  much  of  its  intended  pur- 
poses.    These  purposes  are,  mainly — 

To  place  before  the  reflecting  public  as  unexceptiona- 
ble a  work  as  may  be,  compatible  with  the  unpleasant 
topic  treated  : 

To  supply  a  desideratum  in  popular  medical  litera 
ture,  great  care  has  been  taken  to  simplify  the  sub- 
ject in  plain  language,  divested  of  technicalities  and 
exceptionable  phraseology : 

Avoiding  everything  calculated  to  excite  the  passiona 
or  administer  to  an  impure  appetite  for  vulgar  books, 
which,  however,  seems  not  to  have  been  the  aim  of  most 
writers  on  kindred  subjects  : 

To,  finally,  introduce  to  the  family  and  social  circles 
in  a  modest  garb,  a  timely  Adviser  against  the  deplora- 
ble consequences  of  Onanism — that  most  fatal  and  per- 
nicious habit  of  youth— that  dreadful  scourge  of  hu- 
manity— that  untimely  Destroyer — 

"  He,  the  younjr  and  strong,  who  cherish'd 

Noble  longings  for  the  strife. 
By  the  road-side  fell  and  perisk'd, 

Weary  with  the  march  of  life  !" 


170 

By  thus  warning,  I  do  not  purpose  to  cast  a  gloom 
over  the  minds  of  sensitive  suflferers,  but  to  promise 
hope,  rcMef  and  per&ct  restoration,  even  iu  the  most  un- 
happy state  of  extreme  debility  ;  from  my  vast  expe- 
rience and  truly  wonderful  success  in  curing  the  moat 
unpromising  subjects  of  Spermatorhoea  and  other  dis- 
eases of  a  private  nature — 

"The  miserable  have  no  other  mrdioine, 
But  only  hope." 

But  it  is  always  advisable  to  seek  relief  early,  thereby 
avoiding  much  unuecessas-y  suffering. 

The  deplorable  condition  of  the  nervous  system  in- 
duced by  the  depressing,  d-3gradiug,  demoralizing  and 
disorganizing  habit  of  Self-Pollution,  in  so  many  cases, 
causes  that  unhappy  irritability  of  temper,  melancholy 
dejection,  moroseness,  and  finally  that  intellectual  imbe- 
cility which  terminates  in  an  awful  wreck  of  the  men- 
tal and  physical  organism.  It  is  not  the  object  of  the 
author  to  paint  the  effects  of  Onanism  in  the  deepest 
dyes,  to  horrify  young  imaginations  ;  bu-t  to  warn— to- 
day— now — for  to-morrow  the  shafts  of  disorganization 
may  have  been  sunk  too  deeply  into  the  system,  ever  to 
DC  removed  by  the  Healing  Art. 

New  York,  1852.  THE  AUTHOR. 


.171 


INTRODUCTION. 

Throughout  the  present  work,  to  prevent  too  fre» 
quent  repetition,  I  shall  use  Spermatorhoea,  to  designate 
the  disease  consequent  upon  the  habit  of  self-abuse  ;  in 
shorty  any  undue  loss  of  semen,  from  whatever  cause. 

A  sufficient  number  of  cases  will  be  inserted  to  illus- 
trate the  various  effects  of  Onanism  upon  the  different 
temperaments,  or  the  peculiarities  of  age,  sex,  or  consti- 
tutional predisposition  to  diseased  action. 

The  afflicted  cannot  expect  to  obtain,  from  any  work 
on  medical  subjects,  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  disease,  in 
its  different  phases,  complications  and  results,  to  be  able 
to  treat  themselves. 

From  the  intimate  association  of  one  organ  and  its 
functions  with  others,  and  from  the  harmony  existing 
throughout  the  whole  frame,  a  part  of  the  animal 
economy,  however  small  it  may  be,  cannot  scarcely  be 
disordered  without  causing  deranged  action  in  other 
parts;  no  modification  can  occur  without  involving  in 
its  changes  other  organs,  and  disordering  their  functions 
also. 

Even  medical  men,  generally,  are  wholly  incompe- 
tent to  advise  and  treat  successfully  the  affection  under 
consideration. 

It  may  not  be  egotistical  for  me  to  remark  here,  *-hai 

am  fully  aware  of  the  importance  of  the  subject,  and 
that,  from  my  long  and  special  attention  exclusively  lo 
the   treatment  of  thousands  of  patients  afflicted  with 


172 

Spermatorhcea  and  other  sexual  comiJaiuts,  and  that, 
too,  with  the  most  flattering  success  ;  that  it  is  probably 
as  well  that  this  task  was  left  to  me  by  the  profession. 

The  public  have  not  the  least  conception  of  the  vast 
amount  of  suffering  entailed  upon  humanity  by  the  prac- 
tice of  self-a-buse,  and  the  too  free  indulgence  of  the 
baser  passions.  My  readers,  who  will  follow  me  to  the 
end  of  this  modest  little  volume,  will  \je  amazed  at  tho 
sad  effects  of  what  they  may  have  considered  an  innocent 
practice. 

Nor  should  I,  in  the  outset,  hesitate  to  repudiate  tho 
pernicious  conduct  of  quacks  and  low-minded  men,  who 
have  written  books  purporting  to  be  guides  to  the  young, 
but,  instead,  have  been  inflammatory  appeals  to  their, 
passions.  And  not  a  few  of  these  books  plainly  incul- 
cate immorality,  for  the  sake  of  administering  to  the 
impure  desire  for  bawdy  books,  too  common  among 
youth  of  both  sexes.  The  great  aim  of  this  work,  there- 
fore, is  to  rescue  the  young  and  ignorant  from  the 
frightful  abyss  awaiting  them,  if  deprived  of  a  warning 
voice.  The  author  also  deems  it  his  duty  to  denounce 
the  introduction  of  plates  representing  the  genital  organs 
of  'joth  sexes,  as  improper  for  a  popular  treatise. 

If  ladies  and  gentlemen  wish  to  study  Anatomy  and 
Physiology,  we  refer  them  to  popular  school-books  upon 
those  subjects,  as  a  healthy  and  proper  study  for  the 
most  fastidious  ;  and  not  to  resort  to  a  book  of  bawdy, 
incorrect  and  intrusive  plates,  iu  senseless  and  ridiculous 
books,  issued  as  an  advertising  medium  for  Quack  nos- 
trums, and,  still  worse,  to  ignorant  pretenders,  who  set 
themselves  up  for  Doctors. 

We  here  take  a  very  important  step,  in  warning  our 
afflicted  readers  against  applying  to  villainous  impostors 


173 


wha  infest  large  cities,  and  who  not  only  swindle  the 
inno>3ent  patient  of  his  money,  but  leaves  the  system  a 
Avi-eck  to  poisonous  nostrums. 

Another  reason  that  induced  me  to  send  out  into  the 
world  this  volume,  (I  am  sorry  to  say  it),  is  the  almost 
total  ignorance  of  the  members  of  our  most  benevolent 
Profession,  many  of  them  not  knowing  such  a  disease  as 
Spermatorhcea.  And  I  do  hope,  for  the  sake  of  human- 
ity, the  medical  profession  generally  will  not  rest  a 
single  day,  until  that  knowledge  is  obtained  ;  as  three- 
fourths  of  all  the  chronic  diseases  have  their  origin  in 
Onanism. 

It  is  a  deplorable  fact,  that  young  ladies,  as  well  as 
youth  of  the  opposite  sex,  are  addicted  to  the  habit  of 
self-abuse  to  an  alarming  extent.  This  habit  frequently 
has  its  origin  in  irritation  of  the  genitals  and  lower 
bowels  of  children,  from  costiveness,  or  from  pin-worms, 
(Ascarides),  which  are  excessively  annoying  to  some 
childi-en.  The  frequent  inclination  to  rub  or  scratch  the 
adjacent  parts  lead  to  the  practice  of  Self-Pollution. 
Many  instances  of  this  character  have  come  under  my 
own  observation. 

I  have  many  times  been  consulted  by  mothers,  whose 
daughters  have  suffered  from  these  abuses,  consequent 
upjn  irritation  of  the  Pudendum,  at  the  age  of  puberty. 

"  ]\Ime  honor's  such  a  ring  : 
My  chastity  's  the  jewel  of  our  house, 
Bequeathed  down  from  many  ancestors  ; 
Which  were  the  greatest  obloquy  in  the  world, 
In  me  to  lose." 

M.   LARMONT 


174 


A  FEW   WORDS  TO  INVALIDS. 


However  hopeless  you  may  thiuk  your  case,  whether 
from  extreme  debility  and  prostration  of  your  entire 
system,  or  from  the  unsuccessful  treatment  of  the 
score  or  more  of  Physicians  you  unfortunately  may 
have  been  under,  or  from  the  false  delicacy  that  many 
of  my  patients  tell  me  kept  them  from  an  earlier  appli- 
cation to  me,  or  the  no  less  fatal  idea  of  your  over- 
coming the  disease  by  the  advancement  of  age,  and  a 
strictly  moral  mind,  &c.,  &c.  ;  for  they  one  and  all  only 
make  j'our  case  worse,  and  if  it  is  an  early  one,  from 
the  cause  being  entirely  local,  it  aflfects  the  entire  ani- 
mal economy,  and  then  requires  general  as  well  as  local 
treatment,  which  I  am  hajjpy  to  be  able  to  say,  the  sci- 
ence of  Medicine  and  great  improvement  in  the  Healing 
Art,  warrants  mo  in  saying,  that  the  most  severe  and 
obstinate  cases,  of  however  long  duration,  yields  to  my 
mode  of  treatment,  as  the  numerous  voluntarily  written 
Certificates  contained  in  the  following  pages,  from  per- 
sons of  all  ages  and  in  the  highest  stations  of  life,  which 
portray  the  difficult  stages  of  the  disease,  as  developed 
in  the  different  constitutions,  will  fully  attest.  I  give 
the  initials  onlj'  in  most  of  the  cases  from  delicacy,  but 
the  full  names  by  their  cordial  permission,  can  be  seen 
at  all  times  in  my  office,  as  well  as  letters  from  Mem- 
bers of  the  Medical  Profession  in  this  and  other  cities. 

The  letters,  or  names  of  patients,  are  known  only  to 
myself,  as  I  have  no  Assista-nt  or  Students  ;  notwith- 
stading  this,  I  always  destroy  them  at  the  termination  of 
each  case.  Therefore,  the  unfortunate  can  disclose  their 
bleeding  hearts  to  one  secret  bo.«!om  whose  feeling  throb 
will  return  that  great  boon,  Health,  for  the  so  generously 
reposed  confidence  in  him. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


177 


CHAPTER  1. 

TlTE  IMPORTANCE  OF  PERFECTLY  UNDERSTANDING  THB 
SUBJECT  OF  ONANISM — ITS  EXISTENCE  FROM  THE 
EARLIEST  PERIOD,  AND  YET  THE  IGNORANCE  OF  THE 
MEDICAL  PROFESSION — IMPOTENCE  AND  STERILITY,  A 
CERTAIN  RESULT  IF  NOT  CURED — THE  EFFECTS,  OP 
IMPOTENCY  AND  STERILITY  ON  THE  HUMAN  RACE. 

Why  is  this  an  important  subject  1  It  is  because  the 
commencement  of  this  habit  is  the  laying  the  founda- 
tion of  almost  every  organic  disease,  the  vital  system  is 
subject  to.  Any  person  on  a  moment's  reflection,  will 
be  convinced  of  the  intimate  relation  existing  between 
the  Mind  and  the  Genital  Organs,  and  their  intimate 
connection  with  the  whole  nervous  system.  What  ren- 
ders it  of  more  importance  still,  is,  there  is  scarcely 
anything  known  about  it,  by  any  one  but  the  afflicted, 
as  in  the  early  studies  of  medical  men,  they  are  taught 
nothing  of  it,  and  in  their  later  years,  their  time  is  so 
fully  occupied  with  a  general  practice,  they  have  not 
the  opportunity  requisite  for  an  understanding  of  such 
a  si^eciality,  and  yet,  as  regards  health  and  happiness, 
there  is  none  that  possess  one-twentieth  part  of  the  im- 
portance. To  convince  you  that  1  do  not  speak  without 
authority,  I  here  insert  an  extract  from  Dr.  Curling's 
remarks,  when  speaking  of  these  organs  : — 

"  Their  functions  being  so  involved  in  those  of  other 
parts,  are  influenced  by  such  peculiar  causes,  and  are  so 
dependent  on  and  modified  by  particular  events  and  cir- 
cumstances, that  the  investigation  of  them  when  disor- 
dered, necess^arily  becomes  of  a  complex  and  difficult 
character.  The  product  too,  of  these  glands,  is  one,  the 
qua^iities  of  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  appreciate, 
and  which  during  life  is  never  ailordcd  in  a  pure  and 
unmixed  state  ;  and  further,  taking  into  account  the 
repugnance  felt  to  such  inquiries,  it  is  scarcely  surprising 
that  the  subject  has  been  but  imperfectly  investigated. 


1V8 

and  rarely  treated  of  by  the  pathologist  and  practitioner 

Indeed,  the  little  information  we  possess  respecting  it, 
is  chiefly  to  be  found  under  the  head  of  Impotency,  in 
works  on  medical  jurisprudence,  in  which  it  is  cursorily 
considered,  principally  in  relation  to  points  of  JMtHlico-le- 
gal  interest,  and  scarcely  at  all  in  reference  to  practice." 

This  certainly  is  the  truth,  and  it  no  doubt  will  sur- 
prise many  persons  to  learn,  that  the  generality  of  phy- 
sicians know  little  or  nothing  of  these  matters.  I  often 
have  patients  who  have  applied  to  the  most  eminent 
physicians  and  surgeons,  of  the  largest  cities  in  tho 
world,  and  paid  them  consultation-fees,  to  be  told  there 
was  nothing  the  matter  with  tliem.  It  is  only  a  few 
weeks  even,  since  a  patient  came  to  me,  «and  who,  among 
other  great  men  he  had  consulted,  was  Sir  Benj.  Brodie, 
of  London,  and  whose  directions  were  not  to  use  any 
of  their  dirty  beer,  and  he  would  be  well  enough  ;  that 
his  disease  was  only  imaginary,  and  if  he  would  only 
think  so,  he  would  have  no  farther  trouble.  You  can 
imagine  the  gentleman's  feelings,  as  he  was  a  strictly 
temperate  man.  From  that  time  he  began  to  despair, 
for  he  had  lost  almost  all  the  power  of  the  organs. 
What  was  more  sad  still,  he  had  not  the  ambition  nor 
desire,  until  he  put  himself  under  my  charge.  1  am 
happy  to  say,  however,  that  in  a  few  weeks  be  was  en- 
tirely in  the  full  possession  of  that  vigor,  both  of  body 
and  mind,  which  nature  had  formerly  bestowed  upon 
him. 

The  statements  of  their  individual  eases  by  the  pa- 
tients themselves,  and  their  certiQcates  for  their  cure 
by  me,  will  be  found  in  tho  subsequent  chapters,  ar- 
ranged under  their  proper  heads,  according  to  their  ad- 
vanced or  primary  stage  which  they  had  reached,  pre- 
vious to  my  treatment.  It  will  be  suflicient,  I  opine, 
to  not  only  illustrate  the  want  of  knowledge  of  the 
medical  profession  as  to  the  proper  treatment  for  such 
cases,  but  whether  my  own,  is  not  superior  to  that  of 
any  other.  From  the  want  of  knowledge  as  heretofore 
mentioned,  there  is  very  little,  if  any,  positive  know- 
ledge of  these  comiilaints  being  known  as  distinct  dis- 
eases, in  that  catalogue  which  enumerated  so  many 
calamities  with  which  our  ancestors  were  afflicted.  But 
we  can  infer  to  a  certainty,  I  think,  that  it  did  exist  for 


179 

centuries,  prerioiis  to  its  having  become  known  th;it 
it  was  a  distinct  disease,  when  we  are  made  acquainted 
with  a  fraction  only  of  the  immense  amount  of  sufl'er- 
ing,  at  the  present  time,  among  the  modest,  diffident, 
pious  youth,  who,  unconscious  and  ignorant  of  doing 
harm,  when  they  first  learned  the  practice  at  the  semi- 
nary, academy,  college,  or  from  some  of  their  acquaint- 
ances while  at  home.  Josephus  mentions  this  as  a  dis- 
ease, when  relating  the  ancient  purification  laws  of  tht> 
Jews.  He  says,  ••'  He  that  sheds  his  seed  in  his  sleep, 
shall  be  privileged  with  those  who  have  wives."  In  re- 
lation to  another  disease,  he  gives  us  another  of  their 
laws  :  "  Those  who  had  a  Gonorrhcea,  were  prohibited 
from  coming  within  the  bounds  of  the  city." 

This  not  only  bears  witness  to  there  having  been  such 
a  disease  known  at  that  time,  but  it  showed  their  wis- 
dom was  far  superior  to  many  of  the  pretended  medi- 
cal savans  of  the  present  day  ;  for  they  adopted  a  regu 
lation,  which  they  supposed  would  be  a  remedy  for  ah 
such  cases. 

Some  have  referred  the  origin  of  this  abuse  to  the 
idolatrous  worship  of  the  northern  Venus,  named  Fra- 
go,  in  oblation  to  whom  her  votaries  were  accustomed 
to  shed  their  seed.  The  opinion  of  the  All-wise,  upon 
the  enormity  of  this  offence  against  reason  and  nature, 
will  be  found  where  he  speaks  of  this  dereliction  of 
Onan,  in  Genesis,  chapter  thirty-eight,  ninth  and  tenth 
verses  : — 

"  And  Onan  knew  that  the  seed  should  not  be  his, 
and  it  came  to  pass,  when  he  went  in  unto  his  brother's 
wife,  that  he  spilled  it  on  the  ground,  lest  that  he  should 
give  seed  to  his  brother.  And  the  thing  which  he  did, 
displeased  the  Lord,  wherefore  he  slew  him  also." 

It  is  only  a  few  years  since  it  was  thought  degrading 
for  any  one  even  to  allude  to  masturbation,  and  espe- 
cially to  speak  openly  or  write  about  it.  But  as  pro- 
gression is  the  spirit  of  the  age,  people  have  become 
more  rational,  and  are  beginning  to  know  the  practice 
is  one  of  the  most  injurious,  possible ;  and  that  to  be 
able  to  remove  the  disease,  it  must  of  course  be  imder- 
stood.  As  I  have  before  stated,  however,  the  hooka 
heretofore  published  on  this  subject,  were  entirely  inad- 
missible to  families.     This  work  obviate?  that  objection, 


180 

and  yet  has  entered  sufficiently  into  the  physiological 
and  medical  details  to  give  a  clear  view  of  the  evil.  1'  rom 
the  extracts  which  I  give  below,  from  the  ancient  medi- 
cal writers,  the  reader  will  be  able  to  see  how  this  sub- 
ject was  regarded  by  eminent  minds,  in  former  ages.  A 
tuimber  of  these  extracts  are  from  M.  llssot  and  others. 
They  are  from  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  of  Physic, 
many  of  whom  lived  centuries  before  Christ.  Allow- 
ance must  be  made  for  the  deficiency  in  scientific  accu- 
racy, for  the  whole  truth  could  not  l>e  toW  as  it  was  nob 
known. 

Hippocrates,  the  oldest  and  most  correct  observer,  has 
already  described  the  diseafes  produced  by  abusing  the 
pleasures  of  venery,  under  the  term  of  dorsal  consump- 
tion. "  This  disease,"  says  he,  "  arises  from  the  dorsal 
portion  of  the  spinal  marrow.  It  principally  attacks 
young  married  people,  or  the  licentious.  They  have  no 
fever,  and  although  they  eat  well,  they  grow  thin  and 
waste  away.  They  have  a  sensation  like  ants  crawling 
from  the  head  down  along  the  spine.  Whenever  they 
go  to  stool,  or  evacuate  their  urine,  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  very  thin  seminal  fluid  escapes  from  the  urethra. 
They  lose  the  power  of  procreation,  yet  often  dream  of 
venereal  pleasures.  They  become  very  weak,  and 
walking  produces  shortness  of  breath  ;  they  have  pains 
in  the  head,  and  ringing  in  the  cars,  and  finally,  an 
acute  fever  (Libiria,)  supervenes,  and  they  die."  !Some 
phj^sicians  have  ascribed  to  the  same  cause,  a  disease 
which  he  has  described  in  another  place,  and  have 
termed  it  the  second  dorsal  consumption  of  Hippocrates, 
aud  which  has  some  relation  to  the  first.  But  the  pre- 
servation of  the  strength  which  he  mentions  particularly, 
seems  to  us  a  conclusive  proof  that  this  disease  does  not 
depend  on  the  same  cause,  but  seems  rather  to  be  a 
rheumatic  affection.  "  These  pleasures,"  says  Celsus, 
in  his  excellent  work  on  the  preservation  of  health,  "  are 
always  injurious  to  weak  persons,  and  their  abuses  pros- 
trate the  strength." 

We  can  find  nothing  more  frightful  than  the  descrip- 
tion by  Aretaus,  of  the  diseases  produced  by  a  too 
abundant  evacuation  of  semen :  "  Young  persons  assume 
the  air  and  the  diseases  of  the  aged;  they  becoma 
pale,  «tupid,  effeminate,  weak,  idle,  and  even  void  of 


181 

anderstanding ;  their  bodies  bend  forward,  their  legs'  af« 
■weak,  they  have  a,  disgust  lor  everything,  become 
fit  for  nothing,  and  many  are  affected  with  paralysis.'' 
In  another  i^hKC  he  mentions  the  abuse  of  these  plea- 
tfOres  as  among  the  six  causes  which  produce  paralysis. 
Galen  has  seen  diseases  of  the  brain  and  nerves  from  the 
same  cause,  and  the  powers  of  the  body  impaired  ;  and 
he  also  relates  that  a  man  who  was  convalescent  from  a 
violent  attack  of  disease,  died  the  same  night  after 
coition  with  his  wife.  Pliny,  the  naturalist,  informs  us, 
that  Cornelius  Gallus,  the  old  praetor,  and  Titus 
Etherious,  a  Roman  knight,  died  in  the  act  of  copula- 
lion.  Aotius  says,  "  the  stomach  is  deranged,  all  the 
body  wastes,  beoomes  pale,  dry,  and  the  eyes  sunken." 
These  remarks,  of  the  most  respectable  ancient  writers, 
are  confirmed  by  the  moderns. 

Sauetorious,  who  has  examined  wiih  the  utmost  care, 
all  the  causes  which  act  on  our  bodies,  has  observed,  that 
••this  weakens  the  stomach,  destroys  digestion, prevents 
insensible  perspiration,  the  derangement  of  which  pro- 
duces such  evil  consequences,  disposes  to  calculous  dis- 
eases, diminishes  the  natural  warmth,  and  is  usually 
attended  with  a  loss  or  derangement  of  sight." 

Lomni\i3,  in  his  fine  commentaries  on  the  passages  of 
Celsus,  whom  we  have  just  cited,  supports  the  remarks 
of  the  author  by  ais  own  observations  :  "  Frequent 
emissions  of  semen  relax,  weaken,  dry,  enervate  the 
body,  and  produce  numerous  otlier  evils,  as  apoplexies, 
lethargies,  ej^ilepsies,  loss  of  sight,  trembling  paralysis, 
and  all  kinds  of  painful  affections." 

One  cannot  read  without  horror,  the  description  left 
us  by  Tulpius,  the  celebrated  burgomaster  and  physician 
of  Amsterdam  : — "  Not  only,"  says  he,  "  the  spinal  mar- 
row wastes,  but  the  whole  body  and  mind  become  lan- 
guid, and  the  patient  perishes  in  misery.  Samuel  Ves- 
pertius  was  attacked,  first  with  a  humor  upon  the  back 
of  his  neck  and  head  ;  it  then  passed  to.  the  spine,  to  the 
loins,  to  the  lower  and  lateral  region  of  the  abdomen, 
and  to  the  hips.  This  unhappy  man  was  affected  with  so 
much  pain  that  he  was  entirely  disfigured,  and  was 
emaciated  so  gradually  by  a  slow  fever,  that  he  more 
than  once  asked  to  be  relieved  from  hia  misery  by 
death." 


182 


**  Nothing,"  says  a  celebrated  physician  of  Louvaine, 

**  weakens  the  system  so  much."  6l  an  card  has  known 
simple  gonorrhoeas,  dropsies  and  consumptions  to  do[>end 
on  this  cause  ;  and  Mays  has  seen  a  man  of  good  ago 
attacked  with  sjxjntaneous  gangrene  of  the  foot,  which 
he  attributed  to  the  same  kind  of  excesses. 

In  the  Meittoires  dos  Curieux  de  la  Nature  is  men- 
tioned a  case  of  blindness,  which  deserves  to  be  given  at 
length.  "  We  are  ignorant,"  says  the  author,  "  what 
sympathy  the  testicles  have  with  the  body,  but  particu- 
larly with  the  eyes." 

Salmuth  has  known  a  sensible  hypochondriac  to  be- 
come a  fool,  and  in  another  man  the  brain  to  become  so 
collapsed  that  it  was  heard  to  rattle  in  the  cranium, 
both  from  excesses  in  vencry.  I  have  known  myself  a 
man,  fifty-nino  yeai's  of  age,  who,  three  weeks  after 
marrying  a  j'oung  wife,  became  blind,  and  in  four 
months  died. 

The  too  great  loss  of  the  animal  spirits  weakens  tho 
stomach,  and  destroys  the  appetite  ;  and  nutrition  not 
taking  place,  the  action  of  tho  heart  becomes  more 
reeble,  all  parts  languish,  aud  the  patient  becomes  epi- 
leptic. It  is  true,  we  are  ignorant  whether  the  animal 
spirits  and  the  seminal  fluid  are  the  same  ;  but  observa- 
tion shows,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  that  these  two 
fluids  are  v^ery  analogous,  and  that  loss  of  the  one  or  the 
other  produces  the  same  complaints. 

Hoffman  has  seen  tho  most  frightful  symptoms  ensue 
from  the  loss  ef  semen.  "  After  long  nocturnal  jwllu- 
tions,"  says  he,  "the  patient  not  only  loses  strength, 
becomes  emaciated  and  pale,  but  the  memory  is  im- 
paired, a  continual  sensntion  of  coldness  affects  all  the 
extremities,  the  sight  becomes  dim,  the  voice  harsh,  and 
the  whole  body  gradually  wasted  ;  the  sleep,  disturbed 
by  unpleasant  dreams,  does  not  refresh,  and  pains  are 
felt  like  those  produced  by  bruises." 

In  a  consultation  for  a  young  man,  who,  among  other 
diseases  produced  by  masturbation,  was  affected  with 
weakness  in  the  eyes,  he  .says,  "  I  have  seen  several  in- 
stances of  young  men,  who,  at  mature  age,  when  tho 
body  possesses  all  its  strength,  were  attacked,  not  only 
with  severe  pain  aud  redness  of  the  eyes,  but  tho  sight' 
S«oame  so  feeble,  that  they  could  neither  read  nor 


183 

write."  He  adds,  "  I  have  even  seen  two  cases  of  gutta 
sereno,  from  the  same  cause." 

The  history  of  the  disorder  which  gave  rise  to  thia 
consultation  will  be  read  with  interest :  "  A  young  man 
commenced  masturbation,  when  fifteen  years  old,  and 
having  indulged  in  it  till  he  was  twenty-three,  expe- 
rienced so  great  feebleness  in  his  head  and  eyes,  that 
during  the  emission  of  semen  there  was  severe  pain  in 
the  latter.  When  he  attempted  to  read  anything,  he 
had  a  feeling  similar  to  that  of  drunkenness;  the  pupil 
was  extraordinarily  dilated  ;  the  eyes  were  exceedingly 
painful ;  the  eyelids  very  heavy,  and  glued  together 
every  night ;  they  were  often  filled  with  tears,  and  a 
whitish  matter  collected  very  abundantly  in  the  two 
corners,  which  were  very  painful.  Although  he  ate  with 
a  good  appetite,  still  he  was  extremely  emaciated  ;  and 
after  he  had  taken  food,  appeared  as  if  drunk." 

The  same  author  has  mentioned  another  case  of 
.vhich  he  was  an  eye-witness,  and  which,  we  think  pro- 
per to  mention  here  : — "  A  young  man,  eighteen  years 
old,  Avho  had  had  frequent  connections  with  a  servant 
girl,  suddenly  fainted,  and  trembled  exceedingly  in  all 
his  extremities  ;  his  countenance  was  red,  and  his  pulse 
very  small.  He  recovered  from  this  state  at  the  end 
of  an  hour,  but  continued  very  feeble.  The  same  phe- 
nomena occurred  very  frequently  with  severe  pain,  and 
at  the  end  of  eight  days  there  was  a  contraction  and 
tumor  in  the  right  arm,  with  a  pain  in  the  elbow,  which 
was  always  increased  during  the  paroxysm.  The  dis- 
ease increased  for  some  time,  but  wa«  finally  cured  by 
Hoffman." 

Boerhavo  portrays  these  diseases  in  that  masterl/ 
manner  and  with  that  precision  which  characterizes  all 
his  descriptions : — "  Too  great  loss  of  semen  produces 
weakness,  debility,  immobility,  convulsions,  emaciation, 
dryness,  pains  in  the  membranes  of  the  brain,  impairs 
the  senses,  particularly  that  of  sight,  gives  rise  to  dorsal 
consumption,  indolence,  and  to  the  several  diseases  con- 
nected with  them." 

The  cases  narrated  by  this  great  man  to  his  auditors 
in  explaining  to  them  this  aphorism,  which  related 
to  the  different  kinds  of  evacuations,  ought  not  to  be 
omitted : — "  I  have  seen,"  says  he,  "  a  sick  man  where 


184 


the  disease  commenced  by  a  lassitude  aud  feebleness  in 
the  body,  particularly  in  the  loins ;  it  was  accsmpanied 
by  twitching  of  the  tendons,  periodicul  spasms  and  loss 
of  flesh,  so  as  to  destroy  the  whole  body  ;  also  pains  in 
the  membranes  of  the  cerebrum,  pains  which  the  patient 
terms  a  dry  burning,  (ardeur  seche),  which  constantly 
inflames  this  most  "noble  organ.  1  have  also  seen  one 
young  man  affected  with  dorsal  consumption.  His  fig- 
ure was  good,  and  although  often  cautioned  against  in- 
dulging in  these  pleasures,  he  did  not  regard  it,  and  bo- 
came  so  deformed  before  death,  that  the  layer  of  flesh 
which  appears  above  the  spinous  processes  of  the  lumbar 
vertebrae,  entirely  disappeared.  The  cerebrum  in  this 
case  seemed  to  be  consumed ;  in  fact,  the  patient  seemed 
to  be  stupid,  and  became  so  stiff,  that  we  have  never 
seen  the  body  so  immovable  from  any  other  cause.  Tho 
eyes  are  so  dull  that  the  siglit  is  nearly  lost." 

De  Senac  mentions  in  the  first  edition  of  his  Essays, 
the  dangers  attending  masturbation,  and  states  that 
"  all  who  indulge  in  "this  vice  will  be  affected  in  the 
flower  of  their  youth  with  the  infirmities  of  age."  Wo 
can  see  in  the  following  editions  why  this  and  other 
/emarks  of  the  same  chai'acter  were  suppressed. 

Ludwig  in  describing  the  diseases  resulting  from  too 
frequent  evacuations,  docs  not  forget  that  of  the  semen. 
Young  people  of  both  sexes,  who  hidulge  in  lascivious- 
ness,  ruin  their  health,  by  wasting  strength  which  was 
designed  to  make  them  vigorous,  and  finally  fall  into 
consumption,  De  Gottier  details  the  sad  accidents 
arising  trom  this  cause ;  but  they  are  too  long  to  copy. 
We  refer  to  the  work,  all  those  who  can  read  the  lan- 
guage in  wliich  it  is  written. 

Van  Swieten,  after  quoting  the  description  of  Hippo- 
crates mentioned  above,  adds — "I  have  seen  all  these 
symptoms,  and  several  others,  in  those  unfortunate  peo- 
ple who  indulged  in  self-pollutions.  I  have  employed 
uselessly,  for  three  years,  all  the  resources  of  medicine, 
for  a  young  man  who  was  diseased  in  consequence  or 
this  practice,  with  wandering,  frightful,  and  general 
pains,  with  a  sensation,  sometimes  of  heat,  and  some- 
times of  cold,  in  every  part  of  tho  body,  but  particularlr 
in  the  loins.  Afterwards,  these  pains  having  diminished, 
his  thighs  and  legs  were  so  cold,  that  although  they 


185 

seemed  of  tlie  natural  temperature  when  touched,  ht 
wasconstaijtly  warming  himself  by  the  fire,  even  during 
the  warmest  days  of  summer.  I  noticed  particularly  all 
this — a  continued  rotary  motion  of  the  testicles  in  the 
scrotum,  and  the  patient  felt  a  similar  motion  in  the 
loins."  This  account  does  not  mention  whether  this 
unfortunate  creature  died  in  three  years,  or  continued 
to  languish  some  time  longer,  which  would  be  more 
dreadful — he  could  not  have  recovered. 

Kloekof,  in  a  very  fine  work  on  the  diseases  of  the 
mind,  which  depend  on  the  body,  confirms  by  his  obser- 
vations what  we  have  already  mentioned. 

If  these  emissions,  which  are  sure  to  be  the  sequence 
of  such  a  habit,  continue,  they  at  first  cause  a  feeling  of 
lassitude,  sleepiness,  want  of  ambition,  hesitancy  of  ac- 
tion and  speech,  occasional  and  permanent,  even  dim- 
ness of  vision,  thoughts  difi"used,  memory  treacherous  or 
Jost,  nervousness,  such  as  being  easily  frightened,  sudden 
starts  at  trifliEg  noises,  want  of  confidence,  a  desire  not 
to  mingle  in  society,  especially  that  of  females,  impo- 
tency  and  sterility,  indigestion,  costiveness,  or  diarrhoea, 
(generally  costiveness).  Those  most  annoying  of  any- 
thing, dark  spots  under  and  around  the  eyes,  loss  of 
flesh,  pain  in  the  chest  and  back,  weakness,  (particu- 
larly of  the  legs),  coughing,  consumption,  idiotcy,  and 
insanity.  Now,  these  are  the  results,  as  hundreds  of  my 
patients  are  ready  to  testify. 

And  yet  there  are  pseudo-philanthropists  who  refuse 
to  advertise,  to  let  the  world  know.  The  physician  and 
surgeon,  they  think,  has  demeaned  himself,  by  devoting 
his  time  to  this  particular  practice.  Grave  professors 
are  following  the  same  jack-o'-lantern.  That  is  the 
reason  medical  students  do  not  have  the  subject  even 
mentioned  to  them,  for  I  have  some  of  them  my  pa- 
tients, every  few  weeks ;  but  that  is  not  all — they 
have  not  only  left  the  victims  to  themselves,  but  they 
have  established  that  hydra-headed  monster,  Quackery, 
and  the  grave  is  now  indebted  to  that  abandonment  for 
its  thousands. 

One  of  the  results,  previously  mentioned,  of  this 
vitiated  indulgence,  is  Impotency.  and  finally  sterility. 
A.  person  with  the  most  circumscribed  imagination,  can 
easily  foresee  the  consequent  misery,  certain  to  befalj 


186 


them,  if  they  arc  so  imprudent  as  to  enter  into  a  matri- 
monial alliance  before  they  are  cured.  The  broken 
heart  of  their  unsuspecting,  and,  ma}^  be,  too  confiding 
partner,  1  -will  not  say  too  confiding,  for  1  have  never 
met  a  single  patient  that  would  have  entered  the  mar- 
riage state,  if  they  had  known  what  their  deplorable 
situation  would  have  caused.  They  would  a  thousand 
times  have  terminated  their  existence  rather  than  the 
consummation  of  the  marriage  ceremony. 

I  am  fully  convinced,  that  a  majority  of  those  who 
commit  suicide  are  impelled  to  do  so  by  that  morbidly 
diseased  state  of  the  mind  arising  from  the  habit  of  mas- 
turbation, for  when  it  has  proceeded  far  enough  to  cause 
impotency  and  sterility,  the  mind  is  so  affected,  that 
reason  is  overpowered  and  replaced  with  the  horrible 
idea  that  every  one  they  meet  is  aware  of  their  com- 
plaint, therefore  the  desire  of  ridding  the  world  of  their 
presence.  This  is  not  an  ideal  picture,  by  any  means,  as 
forty-nine  out  of  fifty  of  the  afflicted  can  testify  to  its 
reality. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  EFFECTS  THE  MIND  HAS  ON  THE  ORGANS  OF  GEN- 
ERATION— STRIKING  CASES  AS  WITNESSED  BY  OTHER 
SURGEONS,  AS   WELL   AS   MYSELF. 

Persons  of  mature  age  have  more  or  less  experienced 
similar  effects.  A  libertine,  or  sensually  dissolute  cha- 
racter, is  a  person  whose  mind  is  not  actively  employed 
in  business,  or  close  application  of  the  mind  in  any  pur- 
suit, but  one  who  has  been  fortunate  in  inheriting  wealth 
or  a  competency  from  their  relatives  or  friends.  If  they 
have  not  been  favored  in  that  respect,  to  enable  them  to 
live  without  exertion,  further  than  the  planning  of  some 
sumptuous  dinner,  or  the  stimulation  from  liquors  at 
champaigne  suppers,  sporting,  &c.,  their  resort  is  the 
gaming-table. 

The  mind,  excited  with  alcoholic  drinks,  or  the  highly 


187 

and  richly  seasoned  food,  has  full  scope  to  anticipate 
sexual  pleasures,  but  when  the  labor  necessary  for  the 
Buccess  of  business  is  preying  on  it,  it  only  anticipates 
that  rest  which  sleep  so  well  affords,  for  I  have  known 
many  and  many  a  person  so  absorbed  in  some  favorite 
or  necessary  pursuit,  as  to  have  months  elapse  without 
any  desire  for  sexual  indulgence,  but  as  soon  as  the 
mind  was  at  liberty  again  they  discover  their  inability, 
and  with  the  proper  treatment,  a  full  restoration.  When 
the  organs  are  in  a  healthy  state,  desire  can  be  engen- 
dered or  dissipated  by  mental  impressions  ;  in  fact,  the 
growth  and  development  of  the  organs  can  be  accele- 
rated or  retarded  in  a  degree  by  the  same  means 

There  are  many  persons  who  do  not  feel  sexual  de- 
sires until  a  late  period  of  life  ;  the  consequence  is,  the 
organs  themselves  are  not  only  imperfectly  developed, 
but  the  body  and  mind  are  also  retarded  in  the  same 
way.  Sometimes-'the  long  suppressed  feelings  will  re- 
ceive a  sudden  stimulus,  from  seeing  some  person  of 
the  opposite  sex  particularly  adapted  to  make  this  de- 
sired impression  upon  their  minds.  Every  pei'son  of  ex- 
perience very  well  knows  that  a  certain  impression 
must  be  made  on  the  mind,  before  the  animal  feeling  is 
experienced,  or  the  phj^sical  development  takes  place, 
for  there  are  many  of  the  opposite  sex  who  excite  dis- 
gust, and  under  such  circumstances  the  certain  feelings 
for  enjoyment  would  not  only  not  be  produced,  but  if 
age  with  the  necessary  favorable  circumstances,  had  not 
already  caused  a  full  development  of  the  organs,  there 
would  be  great  danger  of  their  ever  fulfilling  nature's 
intentions.  This  at  once  explains  to  us  the  reason  of 
so  many  of  those  distressing  cases  of  indifference  and 
dislike  to  be  met  with  between  parties,  and  be  a  partial 
aid  in  giving  the  necessary  treatment. 

There  are  good  reasons  for  supposing  that  the  sexual 
instinct  is  materially  dependent  upon  a  particular  part 
of  the  brain,  though  we  are  not  exactly  certain  what 
part  it  is,  nor  whether  it  is  a  mere  development  of  it 
that  is  needed,  or  some  peculiarity  of  structure  or  or- 
ganization. It  is  not  at  all  uncommon  to  find  men  per- 
fectly organized  in  every  respect  with  vigorous  minds, 
and  with  every  other  faculty  in  full  play,  but  yet  almost 
wholly  destitute  of  desire  for  sexual  enjoj'ment.     In 


188 


most  of  these  cases,  it  is  true,  the  generative  oreanfl  are 
small  or  inactive,  yet  in  some  they  are  of  full  aevelop- 
ment,  healthy,  and  active.  In  such  cases  we  can  only 
account  for  the  singular  indifference  exhibited,  by  sup- 
posing that  the  part  of  the  brain  which  regulates  the 
reproductive  instinct  has  not  had  sufficient  power,  or 
else  the  senses  have  not  been  properly  presented.  In 
the  same  way,  wc  can  account  for  the  influence  of  the 
brain  and  nervous  system  on  the  generative  organs,  as 
previously  mentioned;  such  as  exhausting  the  nervous 
energy,  if  we  can  so  speak,  in  thinking,  or  in  muscular 
energy.  The  other  functions,  as  well  as  the  generative, 
are  proportionally  weakened.  Authors  are  apt  to  be- 
come impotent,  when  the  mind  is  very  intently  en- 
gaged on  some  particular  subject.  In  the  lives  of  sev- 
eral students,  we  have  a  further  corroboration  in  proof 
of  my  assertion,  as  many  of  them  have  been  remark- 
able for  their  coldness  and  incapacity,  and  particularly 
when  engaged  in  such  absorbing  and  abstract  studies  as 
Mathematics.  As  another  instance — Sir  Isaac  Newton 
is  said  to  have  never  known  sexual  ardor,  though  in 
every  respect  a  perfectly  formed  man,  and  it  is  prob- 
able, I  may  say  without  a  doubt,  it  was  owing  to  his 
incessant  and  all-absorbing  studies. 

I  have  the  fullest  proof  in  sustaining  me  in  the  as- 
sertion, that  intense  mental  occupation  will  not  only 
lessen  the  sexual  ardor,  hut  that  it  will  extinguish  it 
entirely.  This  is  not  a  simple  fact  which  should  be  so 
easily  passed  over — as  it  is  of  the  highest  medical  and 
moral  importance. 

The  only  thing  required  in  these  cases,  is,  an  intelli- 
gent and  honest  physician,  who  will  examine  and  find 
the  real  cause,  and  then  in  a  sympathizing  manner  ex- 
plain it  to  the  patient,  administer  the  proper  treatment, 
and  the  cure  can  be  effected.  But  if  a  wron^  course 
of  procedure  be  adopted,  then  the  evils  will  be  con- 
firmed. It  is  in  this,  as  in  every  thing  else  ;  ignorance 
and  concealment  from  the  proper  physician  produce 
evils  that  only  knowledge  and  mutual  confidence  can 
prevent  or  remove. 

Be  cautious  in  choice  of  your  "Doctor,  Dear," 
But  after  that  choice,  abandon  all  fear. 


180 
CHAP.   III. 


INJURIES    OF    THE    BRAIN,    CAUSING    IMPOTENCY — CASES 
ILLUSTRATIVE   OF   THE   SAME. 

•Baron  Larrey  gives  the  remarkable  case  of  a  soldier, 
v?liich  came  under  his  own  notice.  He  was  a  healthy, 
robust  man,  ■with  strong  propensities  and  endowments, 
who  had  a  portion  of  the  back  part  of  the  head  cut  off 
by  a  sabre.  He  recovered  from  the  wound,  but  lost 
the  senses  of  sight  and  hearing  on  the  right  side.  Pain 
was  also  experienced  down  the  spine,  and  a  peculiar 
creeping  feeling  in  the  organs,  which  also  began  to  waste, 
and  in  fifteen  days  the  power  was  entirely  lost. 

M.  Lallemand  also  mentions  a  case  of  a  French  soldier, 
similarly  injured,  in  the  expedition  to  Algiers,  who 
speedily  experienced  the  same  wasting  of  the  organs, 
loss  of  power,  and  sexual  desire. 

In  the  American  Journal  of  the  Medical  Sciences,  for 
February,  1839,  Dr.  Fisher  relates  a  curious  instance 
of  a  gentleman  injured  in  a  railway  car.  He  was  look- 
ing out  of  the  window  at  the  moment  when  the  coUi^on 
occurred,  and  the  shock  threw  his  head  against  the 
edge  of  it,  striking  the  back  of  it  with  such  force  as  to 
stun  him  ;  he,  however,  recovered  his  senses,  and  was 
taken  home,  but  suffered  great  pain  in  the  back  part  of 
the  head  and  tgp  of  the  neck.  His  right  arm  was  be- 
numbed a  little,  and  some  difficulty  was  experienced  in 
passing  the  urine ;  but  in  two  weeks  he  was  able  to 
walk  out  with  no  other  incouA-enience  than  a  slight  dim- 
ness of  sight.  About  the  fifth  week  he  discovered  that 
ho  was  impotent,  and  had  lost  all  sexual  desire.  The 
means  used  to  restore  his  genital  powers  were  only  par- 
tially successful,  nor  was  his  memory  so  perfect  as  be- 
fore, but  all  the  other  difficulties  disappeared  under  the 
proper  treatment. 

In  the  Lancet,  for  August,  1841,  is  an  account  of  a 
medical  student  who  received  a  blow  on  the  face,  in  a 
quarrel,  which  knocked  him  do^vn,  so  that  he  fell  on 
the  back  of  his  head.  He  was  totally  unconscious  for 
eight  or  ten  hours,  but  gradually  recovered,  and  on  the 
following  day  even  resumed  his  studies,  which  he  eon- 


190 

tinued  unremittingly  for  the  next  six  weeks.  He,  how- 
ever, became  exceedingly  irritable,  with  a  feeling  of 
general  uneasiness,  and  after  the  first  week,  ho  observed 
the  genital  organs  begin  to  waste  and  the  desire  to 
grow  less,  till  he  finally  became  nearly  impotent,  but 
afterwards  recovered  under  proper  treatment. 

Many  such  cases  are  witnessed  in  persons  affected  \*ith 
paralysis,  and  other  diseases,  which,  with  the  proper 
treatment,  almost  invariably  recover.  But  in  cases  oc- 
curring from  accidents  as  mentioned  in  the  above  cases, 
the  cure  is  very  uncertain,  especially  if  they  do  not  receive 
the  attention  proper  and  necessary  without  too  much  de- 
lay, for  if  the  organs  have  time  to  become  withered,  the 
vessels  do  not  secrete,  and  consequently  become  closed. 
In  such  a  case,  recovery  is  impossible,  for  the  treatment 
cannot  reach  the  affected  part. 

This  brings  us  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  strength  of 
the  sexual  desires  depends  in  a  great  measure  upon  the 
organs  themselves ;  yet  there  are  other  influences  that 
may  operate  upon  them,  as  we  have  previously  shown, 
according  to  the  various  mysterious  sympathies  ema- 
nating from  other  parts.  The  celebrated  John  Hunter 
giX'es  us  an  instance  he  met  with  in  his  own  practice.  I 
have  had  many  like  it  in  mine.  The  patient  was  per- 
fectly incompetent  for  the  marital  duties,  solely  from 
fear. 


CHAP.  IV. 


SPERMATORRHCEA,   OR    THE   UNNATURAL  AND  EXCESSIVE 
LOSS   OF   SK.MIiN. 

When  this  is  lost  at  the  commencement  of  masturba- 
tion, it  id  supposed  to  be  entirely  harmless,  because  they 
think  by  sutli  a  practice,  they  will  escape,  to  them,  the 
immoral  and  degrading  vice  of  licentiousness,  and  there- 
fore by  the  practice  of  it,  when  their  ardent,  youthfu! 
and  healthy  desires  are  too  overjjowering,  they  think 
they  a -e  doing  no  more  than  fulfilling  the  behests  of  na- 


191 

lure.  Ill  this  idea  lies  the  great  danger,  not  only  tc 
themselves,  but  their  companions.  This  is  the  cause  ot 
its  being  so  very  prevalent  and  destructive,  for  befort 
the  first  one  of  a  circle  of  acquaintances  is  warned  oi 
his  error,  by  its  effei:ts  on  his  former  vivacity  and  weak- 
ness, nervousness  and  probably  his  own  discovery  of  itjs 
preventing  the  proper  development  of  youth,  liundredf- 
may  be  in  the  same  path  to  ruin,  by  its  baneful  effect.' 
on  the  mind,  and  the  consequent  premature  decay  anc 
death  of  its  victim.  The  progress  of  course  is  gradual- 
first  the  vivacity  and  energy  of  youth  is  changed  to  list- 
less indifference ;  the  vigor  of  manhood  remains  no 
longer  ;  the  peaceful  content  of  mature  life  is  changed  to 
despondency  and  gloom.  I  have  had  many  a  patient, 
whose  mental  powers  at  the  opening  of  the  season  of  life 
were  capable  of  making  him  (what  every  intellectual 
person  desires.)  both  eminent  and  happ)',  but  whose  bod- 
ily health  and  strength  being  lost,  the  mind  becomes 
shattered  and  almo!<t  annihilated  in  this  vortex  of  de- 
struction, tempts  the  sufferer  to  end  this  short  lived, 
but  miserable  existence  by  suicide. 

The  loss  of  semen  by  Spermatorrhoea  affects  the  in- 
dividual very  differently  from  excessive  indulgence,  for 
the  loss  in  every  instance  by  the  former,  is  an  operation 
of,  or  caused  by  the  mind,  whei-eas,  that  of  the  latter, 
is,  even  in  the  greatest  excess,  from  the  effects  of  a  lo- 
cality of  feelings  ;  yet  grave  authors,  pretending  to  know 
all  that  can  bo  learned  of  these  complaints,  say  the  ef- 
fects are  much  the  same.  It  is  only  necessary  to  con- 
vince the  reader  of  the  absurdity  of  their  assertion,  by 
a  moment's  reflection,  or,  may  be,  to  an  acquaintance  who 
is  notoriously  licentious,  but  still  as  far  as  appearances 
are  concerned,  enjojnng  good  health.  Not,  so  however, 
with  the  Onanist,  ibr  a  partial  acquaintance  even  will 
discover  the  inroad  that  is  being  made  on  his  system. 
Do  not  understand  me  as  saying,  that  a  licentious  career 
does  not  injure  health  ;  far  from  it — but  the  effect  is  not 
the  same  as  with  the  Onanist. 

An  author  of  a  work  on  this,  and  the  various  sexual 
diseases,  divides  this  complaint  into  three  different 
stages  :  "  The  first  stage,"  he  says,  "  is  when  the  com- 
plaint is  in  its  incipient  stage,  and  its  effects  are  entirely 
.ocvA  :    The  second  stage  is  when  the  bladder  as  well  as 


192 


the  surrounding  viscera  are  involved :  Third,  the  mind 
as  well  as  the  whole  system  is  involved."  Now  I  am 
surprised  that  any  surgeon  who  has  had  the  advantages 
of  the  practice  in  these  diseases  which  this  gentleman, 
from  the  number  of  j'cars  he  has  devoted  to  them,  must 
have  had,  will  assert  that  these  emissions  are  wholly 
a  local  complaint.  By  comparing  the  seminal  losses  with 
venesection,  the  reader  can  form  a  faint  idea  whether 
this  is  a  local  affection  or  not,  for,  from  an  investigation 
of  the  subject,  a  loss  of  one  onnce  of  the  former  is  equal 
to  a  loss  of  forty  ounces  of  the  latter. 

Those  persons  who  can  see  that  the  semen  is  lost  are, 
generally  speaking,-  only  those  whose  cases  are  known. 
But,  at  least  one  half  who  suffer  from  this  loss,  are  un- 
conscious of  the  fact,  as  it  escapes  with  the  urine,  while 
at  stool,  or  by  gradual  leakage,  and  these  are  the  ones 
who  saffer  most,  for  in  nearly  every  case  they  are  under 
the  care  of  physicians,  who  grope  in  the  dark,  and  try, 
from  a  want  of  true  knowledge  of  the  case,  to  cure  the 
effect  without  removing  the  cause.  While  thus  laboring, 
they  will  treat  them  for  liver-complaint,  disease  of  the 
heart,  indigestion,  or  symptoms  of  almost  every  disease 
the  system  is  subject  to.  The  ravages  of  this  destruc- 
tive disease  are  not  confined  to  a  particular  class,  to  age 
or  condition,  nor,  as  I  think,  I  have  satisfactorily  shown, 
is  it  always  a  consequence  of  vicious  conduct,  as  some 
suppose,  but,  on  the  contrai-y,  any  severe  attack  of  sick- 
ness often  causes  it,  so  the  most  exemplary  and  virtuous 
may  be  the  victim,  for  the  causes  of  it  operate  on  the 
healthy  and  strong,  as  on  the  sickly  and  weak,  and  at- 
tack the  middle-aged,  either  married  or  single,  of  the 
most  temperate  habits.  Therefore  the  incalculable 
misery— unless  this  destructive  pestilence  is  unveiled — 
that  every  one  may  know  how  to  guard  against  its  evils. 

As  I  have  before  stated,  the  genital  organs  are  so 
intimately  connected  with  the  rest  of  the  system,  that 
the  slightest  derangement  of  them  affects  it,  more  par- 
ticularly as  some  parts  are  in  common  with  the  Urinary; 
the  Rectum  also  is  in  close  juxtaposition  to  them,  so 
that  any  disease  that  affects  the  genital  organs  is  verj 
apt  to  disarrange  all  these  likewise,  and  it  is  very  pro- 
bable this  second  affair  may  be  more  severe  than  the 
first  one 


193 


Diseases  of  the  bladder,  kidneys,  urethra  and  rectum, 
are  quite  common,  and  often  very  distressing,  while  the 
causes  of  them  remain  undiscovered.  lu  many  casea 
these  diseases  are  only  symptoms — the  primary  trouble 
being  Spermatorrhoia.  To  this  extent  is  this  the  fact, 
that  five  out  of  every  six  of  my  patients  have  a  disease 
of  the  bladder  to  that  extent  as  to  have  worn  pads, 
braces,  &c.  ;  but  as  the  cause  is  not  known,  of  "course  the 
efi'ect  is  not  removed. 

The  main  cause  of  the  genital  organs  exerting  such  an 
influence  over  the  whole  system,  is  their  intimate  con- 
nection with  the  nerves.  As  there  is  no  process  carried  ou 
in  the  bod}'  requii-iug  so  much  the  action  of  the  nerves, 
as  the  evacuation  of  the  semen  ;  that  is  the  reason  it  is  so 
exhaustive  of  the  vital  energy.  In  youth  this  power  is 
brought  in  requisition,  for  the  formation  and  full  devel- 
opment of  the  genitals  ;  so  if  nature  is  not  left  free  for 
this  purpose,  the  other  parts  of  the  sj'stem  are  not  stimu- 
lated in  a  sufficient  manner  for  the  perfection  intended, 
and  necessary  for  a  full  development  of  the  entire  sys- 
tem. This  is  the  reason  why  those  who  are  castrated 
are  always  imperfect  in  body  and  mind,  and  descend  to 
the  grave  so  early,  for  if  these  organs  are  removed,  na- 
ture will  not  sufficiently  concentrate  itself  to  any  one  so 
as  to  be  sufficient  to  stimulate  the  whole  ;  consequently, 
the  development  is  only  partial.  Eunuchs  are  a  suf- 
ficient proof;  or  compare  a  mutilated  animal  with  one 
that  is  not,  and  it  will  be  at  once  evident  that  the  form 
of  the  body  and  the  disposition  are  completely  changed. 
Even  in  after  life,  the  vital  energy  requisite  to  secrete 
properly,  at  the  same  time  invigorates  the  system,  and 
disposes  it  to  a  constant  activity,  that  otherwise  would 
not  bo  exhibited.  Therefore,  this  substance  is  an  essen- 
tial and  important  agent,  not  only  for  perfecting  the 
body  in  early  life,  but  at  a  later  period  to  arouse  it  to 
the  proper  exertion.  So,  I  think,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  a  deficiency  or  an  abundance  of  this  fluid  does  exert 
a  most  decided  influence  on  the  character  of  the  indi- 
vidual. Many  are  dull  and  inactive,  from  a  de- 
ficiency in  this  respect,  while  others  are  too  impulsive 
and  restless,  from  a  superabundance — yet  the  cause  is 
seldom  suspected.  And  if  this  nervous  energy  is  ex- 
hausted by  emissions,  its  abstraction  necessarily  weakens 


94 


the  power  of  the  whole  system.  By  au  extra  effort  na- 
ture can,  for  a  time,  supply  the  deficiency  jjroduced,  but 
if  the  excess  be  contiuued,  this  effort  soon  fails,  and  then 
the  general  prostration  follows.  Then  it  is  the  stomach 
cannot  digest  the  food,  the  heart  cannot,  for  the  lack  of 
power,  propel  the  blood,  nor  the  brain  think. 

This  brmgs  us  to  the  cause,  in  such  cases,  of  dyspep- 
sia, heart'diseases,  fettered  intellect,  insanity,  and  the 
thousand  and  one  other  evils.  It  has  been  stated  that 
the  brain  has  been  found  wasted  and  softened,  after  the 
death  of  persons  from  these  complaints,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  these  poor  victims,  who  are  troubled  with 
pain  in  the  head,  dimness  of  vision,  loss  of  hearing,  &c., 
the  brain  is  constantly  in  a  state  of  inflammation,  or 
■wasting  away,  and  continues  till  they  become  deaf, 
blind  and  insane. 


CHAPTER  V. 


CAUSE     OF     SPERMATORRHCEA 

The  most  frequent  cause  of  Spermatorrhoea,  of  course, 
is  the  degrading  habit  of  self-abuse  ;  yet  a  too  frequent 
sexual  excitement  will  cause  it.  Another  cause  which 
will  produce  these  emissions  is  an  innocent  habit,  which 
has,  up  to  this  time,  never  been  mentioned  by  any 
writer.  Many  a  person  has  been  convinced  that  this 
disease  has  been  caused  by  some  excess  or  other  ;  but 
what  that  excess  was,  they  were  unable  to  tell ;  but 
they  attribiited  it,  generally,  to  a  too  full  indulgence  of 
their  sexual  passions,  either  at  an  early  or  late  period. 
One  thing  was  certain — they  had  all  the  misfortune  of 
the  masturbator,  without  the  crime  of  having  know- 
ingly produced  them. 

Some  may  have  become  impotent — partially  or  wholly 
— and  some  may  have  only  had  the  other  symptoms 
accompanying  Spermatorrhoea.  The  habit  to  which  I 
allude,  is  that  of  only  a  partial  connection ;  that  is, 
withdrawing  the  penis,  just  as  the  semen  is  about  to  bo 


195 


ejected,  in  the  act  of  copulation.  The  reason  for  this  fs, 
to  prevent  the  female  becoming  pregnant.  Why  thia 
practice  is  injurious  to  the  male  is,  because  the  act  of 
copulation,  not  having  been  fully  completed,  leaves  the 
organs  to  complete  the  act  alone,  instead  of  having  the 
natural  stimulus  and  excitant  to  the  end,  thereby  leaving 
more  or  less  semen  in  the  canal  and  ducts  to  ooze  out 
afterwards. 

An  attack  of  fever  and  some  other  diseases  will  cause 
Spermatordioea,  and  especially,  if  the  genital  organs  be- 
come inflamed,  for  it  leaves  them  in  a  state  of  irritation, 
which  constantly  stimulates  them  to  activity,  so  that 
they  become  entirely  independent  of  the  will,  for  the 
pleasurable  sensations  attending  the  emissions,  during 
sleep,  soon  pass  away,  and  then  they  begin  to  occur, 
without  the  sensation  or  knowledge,  till  awakened  in 
the  morning  ;  and  finally,  they  take  place  in  the  day- 
time, when  the  bowels  are  moved,  or  the  urine  passed ; 
but  in  the  most  aggravated  cases  there  is  a  constant 
running  away  of  the  semen,  without  any  intermission. 
This  is  from  a  relaxation  of  the  mouths  of  the  seminal 
ducts.  When  it  comes  away  with  the  urine,  it  is  from 
an  inflammation  of  them,  which  involves  the  bladder, 
and  causes  a  desire  oftener  to  pass  urine  than  usual. 

I  very  frequently  have  married  men  for  patients,  both 
from  self-abuse  at  an  earlier  age,  and  which  they  sup- 
posed the  marriage  state  would  rid  them  of,  which  is  a 
fatal  idea,  for  it  involves  the  misery  of  an  unsuspecting 
person  as  well  as  their  own.  It  is  often  the  case,  that 
Spermatorrhoea  is  caused  by  sexual  excesses,  and  not 
using  true  moderation.  This  is  a  fatal  error ;  for  they 
are  liable  to  suffer  at  any  time.  And  they  are  greatly 
surprised,  when  they  find  on  coming  to  me,  what  the 
real  trouble  was.  It  is  the  same  with  those  moral  and 
religious  young  men,  who  have  never  been  addicted  to 
the  practice  of  masturbation,  yet  the  mature  develop- 
ment and  good  health,  will  cause  these  dreaded  emis- 
sions at  night,  and  with  the  consciousness  of  strict  rec- 
titude, they  think  it  is  a  harmless  occurrence,  until  the 
fatal  error  is  found  out  too  late  for  them  to  escape  ita 
ravages,  for  I  can  assert  positively  from  the  advantagea 
of  an  immense  practice,  that  an  emission  in  this  unnatu- 
ral manner  is  injurious.    This  is  an  important  truth, 


190 


and  should  bo  known  by  every  one ;  and  it,,  no  doubt 
■will  surprise  the  reader,  because  it  has  not  before  been 
known.  For  that  very  object  I  have  published  this 
little  work,  divested  of  all  indelicate  language,  that  it 
may  be  read  in  every  family  Avithout  any  objection  from 
the  pure-minded  female.  This  insuperable  objection  to 
all  the  other  works,  is  the  cause  of  so  much  ignorance, 
which  for  the  benefit  of  humanity  should  be  supplanted 
by  knowledge. 

There  are  certain  medicines  that  will  cause  this  com- 
plaint, and  often  cause  severe  inllamniatoiy  complica- 
tions, and  yet  they  are  administered  to  prevent  the  diffi- 
culty ;  such  is  especially  the  case  with  Canthaeides, 
Phosphorus,  Iron,  Opium,  &c. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Kffects  of  Spermatorrhce — As  shown  by  cases  from 
aiy  own  note-book,  to  all  of  which  are  attached  their 
cei'tificates  to  me,  of  their  cure.  The  originals  can 
be  seen  at  my  office  with  the  full  names.  And  I  am 
not  afraid  to  assert,  that  they  are  unprecedented. 

I  will  preface  these  cases  by  enumerating  the  eflects  of 
the  disease,  as  will  be  seen,  by  reading  the  cases  of  the 
different  individuals. 

Some  of  the  first  effects,  are  exhibited  on  the  genitals, 
particularly  those  most  immediately  connected,  such  as 
the  urinary  organs.  The  irritation  speedily  ext-ends 
from  the  ducts  and  vas  deferens  to  the  urethra  and  blad- 
der, and  Avhen  it  is  so  great  in  the  latter  that  it  will  not 
retain  the  least  quantity  of  urine,  it  proceeds  along  to 
the  ureters  and  kidneys,  causing  all  the  symptoms  of 
inflammation  of  them,  and  of  gravel,  with  great  weak* 
ness,  and  pain  in  the  back.  Many  patients  come  to  me 
for  their  cure,  without  any  idea  of  the  real  cause  of  all 
their  suffering,  for  nearly  all  of  them  have  been  under 
the  charge  of  physicians,  who  have  tried  in  vain  to  alle- 
viate their  condition  in  the  least.    The  rectum,  or  larj^e 


1  LATK    -n. 


Jti^.  T^ 


f»(?.51. 


199 


intestine  is  very  apt  to  suffer,  as  it  is  in  direct  proximit;? 
to  tlie  prostate  gland  and  seminal  vesicles.  I  have  had 
patients,  with  a  sensation  of  bearing  down  to  that  de- 
gree, that  they  have  worn  trusses  and  bandages,  by 
the  advice  of  physicians,  to  help  support  the  bowels. 
The  constant  irritation  and  inQanimation  internally,  soon 
causes  constipation  and  piles  ;  and  when  the  mucous  coat 
is  involved,  then  it  causes  a  diarrhoea,  which  no  medica- 
tion can  check,  so  long  as  the  cause  is  not  removed.  A 
frequent  symptom  is  a  peculiar  irritation  or  itching  of  the 
urethra  and  meatus-urinarious,  or  opening  of  the  canal, 
sometimes  little  sores  or  pimples  filled  with  water  or 
blood  will  appear  on  the  external  parts.  These  local 
effects  will  soon  usher  in  those  more  severe — universal 
lassitude  and  weakness,  with  a  remarkaDe  loss  of  power 
in  the  legs,  causing  great  weariness  in  walking,  and  es- 
pecially in  ascending  stairs,  which  will  cause  trembling, 
paleness,  a  fluttering  or  palpitation  of  the  heart,  and 
fainting  indications.  In  time  the  stomach  suffers,  diges- 
tion is  imperfect ;  emaciation,  and  wasting  away  follows. 

The  loss  of  the  nervous  power  affects  the  diaphragm  ; 
and  then  there  is  a  difficulty  of  breathing,  which  finally 
affects  the  lungs.  The  head  is  not  exempt  from  the  gen- 
eral influence,  and  headache,  rush  of  blood  to  the  head, 
dizziness  and  drowsiness,  dimness  or  loss  of  sight,  is  fre- 
quently observed,  as  if  a  cobweb  was  spread  over  the  eye, 
which  Avill  fill  with  water,  and  look  red  on  any  extra  use 
of  it;  generally,  however,  the  lids  are  more  affected,  which 
it  is  impossible  to  benefit  until  the  cause  is  removed.  The 
effect  on  the  mind  and  feelings  are  the  most  marked. 
Mental  activity  is  as  difficult  and  unpleasant  as  bodily. 
They  become  dull,  listless  and  moping  ;  the  memory  fails 
and  the  judgment  weakens,  so  that  all  power  of  applica- 
tion is  lost.  The  mind  cannot  be  concentrated  ;  when  an 
effort  is  made  they  will  wake  as  from  a  ch'eam,  and  find 
they  have  quite  forgotten  the  subject.  This,  of  course, 
renders  them  entirely  unfit  for  business,  or  any  close  ap- 
plication, and  finally  degenerates  into  insanity.  If  the 
records  of  the  failures  in  business,  or  in  the  seminaries, 
academies,  and  colleges,  could  all  be  written,  the  num- 
bers that  were  made  victims  from  this  disease  would 
astonish  the  world. 

Moral  teachings  in  these  oases  only  add  fuel  to  the 


200 

flames.  Tlie  foelinga  and  disposltious  of  this  class  of 
persons  arc  almost  indescribable.  They  become  melan- 
choly and  sensitive  to  such  a  degree,  that  they  will 
often  shed  tears  at  a  trifling  occurrence.  They  imagine 
themselves  subjected  to  trials  and  insults  that  no  one 
else  would  dream  of.  They  will  start  suddenly  at  a 
slight  noise.  What  makes  it  worse  then,  is  an  aversion 
to  "the  opposite  sex.  Many  of  the  misanthropes  and 
hermits  are  of  this  kind. 

I  will  now  pass  from  the  more  general  description  to 
the  special  ones,  as  presented  by  the  cases  themselves. 


In  1850,  Mr.  S.,  of  New  Jersey,  gave  me  this  written 
statement : — 

"I  am  38  years  of  age.  I  commenced  the  habit  of 
masturbation  at  the  age  of  seven  or  eight.  I  was 
taught  tlie  practice  by  a  female  servant,  and  continued 
it  with  more  or  less  violence,  until  I  was  manied,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-seven.  I  several  times  previous  to  mar- 
riiige,  tried  to  leave  off  the  practice,  but  found  by  so 
doing,  I  had  involuntary  emissions  at  night ;  to  avoid 
which,  I  continued  the  practice  of  it  till  I  was  mamed, 
hoping  that  would  bring  me  all  right ;  but  how  sad  were 
my  feelings,  and  how  miserable  my  position,  when  I 
found  my  hopes  were  blasted.  Well,  in  my  endeavors 
to  prevent  the  emissions,  my  habits  led  me  into  exces- 
sive venery,  which,  in  my  then  state  of  health,  was 
nearly  as  destructive,  for  I  unfortunately  continued  it 
for  nearly  six  years,  until  I  became  so  reduced,  and  in 
such  a  dreadful  state  of  nervousness,  that  I  tried  to  ab- 
stain in  toto,  in  order  to  recover  my  strength  ;  but  in 
doing  so,  the  horrible  emissions  again  commenced.  I 
then  tried  to  refrain  gradually  ;  but  that  would  not  do. 
My  situation  was  truly  horrible,  for  I  was  descending 
to  the  grave  at  a  rapid  rate.  I  then  apphed  to  a  dis- 
tinguished surgeon  for  a  cure  ;  but  his  greatest  efforts 
were  of  no  benefit.  I  then  tried  another,  with  no  better 
success ;  then  anotlicr,  and  another,  with  the  like  result. 
I  then  called  on  a  surgeon,  who  devoted  his  attentiou 
entirely  to  this  class  of  diseases,  and  who  charged  me  a 
fee  of  i-200.    I  will  state  farther,  that  you  can  fully  un- 


201 

derstand  my  case.  I  am  a  complete  wreck — my  minii 
has  long  since  lost  its  vigor,  which  threw  my  busineaa 
into  such  a  deranged  state,  that  I  became  involved  to 
the  extent  that  extrication  was  impossible — and  I  lost 
every  dollar.  I  am  now  scarcely  able  to  fill  a  clerkship, 
upon  a  small  salary.  I  am  very  nervous,  can  eat  only 
the  most  easily-digested  food,  am  troubled  with  costivo- 
ness,  short  breath,  and  so  weak  that  I  can  scarcely  ful 
fill  my  duties.  I  have  been  using  the  cold-baths  daily, 
for  a  long  time.  I  have  tried  salt-water  baths,  and,  in 
fact,  everything  that  I  have  been  told  or  supposed 
would  be  a  benefit  to  me.  Now,  Dear  Doctor,  after 
hearing  of  some  cases  that  some  acquaintances  and 
others  bad  experienced  under  your  treatment,  f  place 
myself  in  your  hands.  And  may  God  assist  you  in  re- 
storing me — for  this  is  my  last  and  only  hope." 

This  gentleman's  case  is  a  simple  narrative  in  his  own 
hand-writing.  His  sleep  was  broken  and  restless  ;  he 
at  times  complained  of  vertigo,  noise  in  the  head,  loss 
of  sight  and  memory  ;  he  also  had  urethral  irritations, 
attended  with  an  occasional  discharge,  pains  in  his  loins, 
and  groins.  Notwithstanding  the  early  commencement 
of  the  habit,  and  its  long  continuance,  and  of  his  exces 
ses  after  marriage,  I  was  after  a  persevering  treatment 
of  some  six  weeks,  able  to  recover  all  of  the  general  de- 
rangements of  the  sj'stem — except  entirely  restoring  his 
digestive  powers  fully,  in  so  short  a  time— and  prevent 
the  emissions  entirely,  except  one,  which  took  place 
within  a  few  days  of  the  commencement  of  my  treat- 
ment. 

This  ease  is  a  fair  copy  of  the  results  of  those  who 
are  so  unfortunate  as  to  fallow  the  advice  of  those  phy- 
sicians who  advise  marriage,  when  a  person  is  laboring 
under  a  disease  of  this  nature.  It  surprised  me  much, 
to  find  the  organs  so  strong  as  they  were,  for  it  is  al- 
most always  the  case  with  these  married  patients,  that 
they  are  nearly  or  partially  impotent. 


A  case  resembling  this  very  much,  was  Mr.  M.,  of 
this  city,  who  I  cured  about  a  year  ago ;  but  he  had 
been  entirely  impotent  for  four  years.    lie  had  not  be&o 


202 


able  to  discover  any  semen  for  the  whole  time.  On  mj 
examining  the  urine,  however,  with  my  microscope,  I 
discovered  some  in  a  very  vitiated  state  mixed  with  it, 
although  with  the  naked  eye,  it  was  not  discernible. 
This  gentleman  was  sotne  ten  j'cars  younger  than  the 
othea-,  and  had  been  under  the  charge  of  a  number  of 
physicians,  without  improving  his  condition  in  the  least. 
They  finally  prevailed  on  him  to  get  married  ;  he  took 
their  advice,  not  only  to  his  own  sorrow,  but  one  who 
was  dearer  to  him  than  life,  in  his  then  unhappy  condi- 
tion, for  he  had  deceived  an  over  confiding  and  innocent 
wife,  almost  as  soon  as  they  were  pronounced  man  and 
wife,  for  scarce  six  months  had  intervened  before  he 
found  himself  in  the  deplorable  condition  mentioned 
above. 

Now.  this  one  ease  I  know,  by  being  placed  before  the 
public,  will  be  the  means  of  saving  thousands  from  a 
similar  fate,  for  certainly  no  sane  person,  who  has  over 
been  addicted  to  any  practice  from  which  any  such  hor- 
"rible  contingency  eould  possibly  arise,  will  even  think  of 
taking  so  fatal  a  step,  without  consulting  me  or  some 
other  physician  in  whom  they  can  trust  themselves,  with 
the  conviction  that  their  case  cannot  be  in  better  hands. 


The  next  case  is  that  of  Mr.  P.,  of  this  eity.  He  is 
a  young  man  of  high  intellectual  power,  and  general 
business  talents — a  junior  partner  in  a  wholesale  house. 
A  few  months  previous  to  his  placing  himself  under  my 
charge,  he  had  a  very  severe  attack  of  gonorrhoea,  with 
orchitis,  which  left  a  stricture,  and  of  so  inflammatory 
a  character,  that  he  was  obliged  to  pass  urine  frequent- 
ly. His  health  otherwise  was  tolerably  good.  These 
were  his  symptoms  at  the  time  of  his  coming  to  me 
With  the  addition  of  his  having  been  impotent  for  some 
time,  with  a  very  great  relaxation  of  the  scrotum,  which 
allowed  the  left  testicle  to  descend  as  much  as  six  inches. 
I  had  no  trouble  in  restoring  him  to  health,  in  a  short 
time,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  last  above  men- 
tioned relaxation  of  the  seminiferous  tubes.  In  some 
of  these  cases,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  operate,  in 
order  to  bring  the  scrotum  back  to  its  natural  size  and 


203 


firmness.  I  did  not  do  so,  however,  in  this  ease  ;  but  by 
his  wearing  a  suspensory  bandage,  and  using  the  washes 
I  gave  him,  succeeded  in  nearly  restoring  it  to  its  former 
firmness.  I  consider  this  diseased  state  of  the  testicle 
one  of  the  most  dangerous  and  intractable  of  all  these 
complaints,  for  if  so  bad  as  to  require  an  operation  with 
the  knife,  there  is  great  danger  of  the  vii'ile  powers  being 
destroj'ed. 

I  will  now  copy  a  case  of  M.  Lallemand's— a  celebrated 
French  practitioner,  wh«i  has,  from  his  assiduous  applica- 
tion to  this  subject,  been  the  means  of  enlightening  the 
world  to  a  greater  extent  than  any  other  person,  of  the 
importance  of  understanding  the  treatment  of  this  dire 
disease.  His  treatment,  however,  I  will  mentif)n  here,  is 
one  that  I  do  not  approve,  and  of  course  don't  adopt,  as 
far,  I  mean,  as  cauterization  is  concerned;  yet,  he  thinks, 
and  so  asserts,  that  out  of  the  whole  number  of  these 
complaints,  there  are  two-thirds  of  them  that  cannot  be 
cured,  unless  tliat  treatment  is  adopted.  In  this  he  is  in 
error,  very  greatly  so,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  cases  of  my 
own,  in  the  succeeding  pages.  I  have  not  used  such 
treatment  in  scarcely  a  case  ;  yet  the  certificates  for  their 
cure  I  have  in  their  own  handwriting,  as  I  have  previous- 
ly stated  that  all  the  cases  I  publish  are  those  for  which  I 
have  their  own  certificates,  and  some  of  them  had,  pre- 
vious to  applying  to  me,  been  treated  in  that  way.  Some 
even  had  submitted  to  cauterization,  eight  or  ten  times, 
and  left  worse  than  when  they  commenced.  Yet  the 
physicians  adopt  that  treatment  in  nearly  every  case. 
This  case  confirms  what  I  have  said  about  married  men 
suffering  with  the  disease  as  well  as  those  who  are  single, 
and  shows  how  easily  physicians  mistake  the  symptoms 
for  those  ^f  other  affections. 


He  (Lallemand)  says,  "  In  the  month  of  January, 
1824, 1  was  requested  to  see  M.  De  S ,  who  was  af- 
fected with  symptoms  of  cerebral  congestion,  from  which 
he  had  suffered  for  some  time.  During  several  consulta- 
tions I  gathered  the  following  facts  :— 

"  M.  De  S.  was  born  in  Switzerland,  of  healthy  pa- 
rents, and  his  father  died  suddenly  of  affection  of  the 


204 


brain.  M.  De  S.  possessiufr  a  strong  constitution  and  an 
active  mind,  received  an  excellent  education,  and  at  an 
early  age  turned  his  attention  to  tb«  study  of  philosophv 
and  nietai)hysic.s  ;  he  afterwards  studied  moral  philoso- 
phy, and  ])olitics.  After  having  spent  some  years  in 
Paris,  {)iirsuiug  his  favorite  subjects,  he  was  obliged  to 
nndertake  the  management  of  a  manufactory,  and  to  at- 
tend to  details,  which  wounded  his  pride.  He  became, 
by  degrees,  peevish  and  capricious,  was  irritated  by  the 
slightest  contradiction — showed  no  pleasure  at  fortunate 
events — and  gave  way  to  anger  on  improper  occasions. 
At  length  he  appeared  to  feel  disgust  and  fatigue  at  cor- 
i-es))()ndence  or  mental  exertion.  At  this  period  he  mar- 
ried, and  Dr.  Butiui,  of  Geneva,  his  medical  attendant 
and  friend,  wa-ute  respecting  him,  as  follows  : — 

"'With  this.iiiarriage,  the  most  happy  period  of  his 
existence  seemed  to  commence  ;  but  soon  the  germs  of 
the  disease,  w^hich  so  many  causes  had  contributed  to 
jjroduce,  became  rapidly  developed.  It  was  perceived 
that  M.  De  S.  wrote  slowly,  and  with  difficulty,  and  his 
style  presented  signs  of  the  decay  of  his  faculties ;  he 
stammered  and  expressed  his  ideas  very  imperfectly  ;  he 
experienced  also,  at  times,  attacks  of  vertigo,  so  severe 
as  to  make  him  fall,  without,  however,  losing  sensibilitv 
or  being  attacked  with  convulsions.  One  day,  an  attack 
which  frightened  the  patient  seriously,  and  left  a  deep 
impression  on  his  family,  came  on  whilst  \\Titing  an  ordi- 
nary letter.  His  medical  attendants  attributed  this 
attack,  which  left  a  weakness  of  the  right  side  of  the 
body,  to  apoplexy.  Twenty  leeches  were  applied  to  the 
anus,  and  the  danger  seemed  at  an  end.  Similar  at- 
tacks, however,  occurred  at  Geneva  and  Montpelier, 
and  several  distinguished  practitioners  were  consulted. 
Some  of  them,  struck  by  the  misanthropic  irritability 
-of  the  patient,  and  his  solitary  habits,  regarded  the  af- 
fection as  purely  hypochondriacal,  or  nervous  ;  others, 
taking  into  consideration  his  digestive  disorder,  consid- 
ered it  an  affection  of  the  brain,  such  as  encephalitis,  or 
chronic  mciringitis,  arising  from  hereditary  predisposi- 
tion. This  last  opinion  was  held  by  Dr.  Bailly,  of 
Blois.  At  all  these  consultations,  the  necessity  of  al>- 
Btaining  from  serious  occupation,  the  utility  of  travel- 
ing, of  various  amusements,  and  of  a  strict  regimen  ;  and 


205 


the  importance  of  free  evacuations  from  tlic  bowA^  )y 
means  of  pnrj^atives  and  injections,  were  agreed  en. 
Many  of  the  practitioners  recommended  the  fi^quent  ap- 
plication of  leeches  to  the  anus,  with  milk  diet,  &c. ; 
others  thought,  that  assafoedita  baths, and  camphor,  were 
indicated.  None  of  their  modes  of  treatment,  bjwever, 
produced  any  considerable  amendment;  the  leeches 
weakened  tlie  patient,  and  the  milk  diet  disordered  liis 
stomach  ;  his  constii)ation  continued,  cold  plunge-baths 
and  cold  effusions  to  the  head  relieved  the  insupportable 
spasms.  M.  De  S.  experienced  great  pains  in  his  legs 
and  face  ;  the  waters  of  Aix,  in  Savoy,  and  the  use  of 
douches  also  appeared  to  produce  some  improvement. 
Still  M.  De  S.  became  more  irritable,  and  at  the  same 
time  more  apathetic.  His  attacks  were  more  frequent 
and  more  violent,  and  he  manifested  greater  indifference 
towards  the  persons  and  things  he  had  before  been  par- 
tial to.  The  weakness  of  his  limbs  increased  to  such  an 
extent,  that  he  frequently  fell,  even  on  the  most  level 
ground.  His  nights  were  restless,  his  sleep  very  light, 
and  often  interrupted  by  nervous  tremors,  or  acute  pains, 
accompanied  with  cramp.  The  cerebral  congestion  in- 
creased, and  the  imminent  fear  of  apoplexy  rendered 
leeches,  to  the  arms,  venesection  to  the  foot,  tartar  emetic 
ointment,  blisters,  mustard,  pediluvia,  and  the  applica- 
tion of  ice  to  the  head  necessary.  Notwithstanding 
the  employment  of  these  energetic  measures,  another 
violent  attack  of  congestion  occurred.  I  was  summoned 
on  this  occasion,  and  I  found  the  patient  restless,  agi- 
tated, and  incapable  of  remaining  two  minutes  in  the 
same  place  ;  his  face  was  red,  his  eyes  projected  and 
fixed,  his  physiognomy  expressed  extreme  dread  ;  his 
walk  was  uncertain,  his  legs  bending  under  the 
weight  of  his  body,  his  skin  cold,  and  his  pulse  small  and 
slow. 

"  '  The  last  circumstance  attracted  my  attention,  and  I 
also  recommended  the  application  of  leeches  to  the  anus. 
M.  De  S.  immediately  threw  himself  into  a  violent  pas- 
sion, and  asserted  that  leeches  had  always  weakened 
him,  without  giving  hini  any  relief.  I  was  too  much 
afraid  of  the  occurrence  of  apoplexy  to  pay  attention  to 
this  asserti'm.  and  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  ap- 
plication of  six  leeches.    The  next  day  I  found  the  pa- 


206 


tient  very  pale,  and  so  weak  he  was  uuable  to  walk— a 
source  of  much  annoyauce  to  him,  as  he  manifested  a 
constant  desire  fur  motion.  An  adamctous  swelling  of 
the  parotid  gland  and  of  the  right  cheek  followed,  which 
was  .succeeded,  a  few  days  after,  by  a  similar  state  of  the 
left  leg  and  foot.  Sleep  had  become  indispensable,  and 
the  patient  was  much  reduced  from  want  of  it ;  he  told 
mc,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  he  had  lost  his  appetite, 
and  could  no  longer  relieve  his  bowels.  I  also  learned 
that  he  was  habitually  costive  and  llatulent ;  that  he 
often  had  recourse  to  injections  and  purgatives,  in  order 
to  relieve  his  obstinate  constipation  ;  and,  lastly,  tJiat  his 
walks  and  the  evacuation  of  his  bowels  had  lately  be- 
come the  sole  olyects  of  his  thoughts  and  convci-sation. 
Having  oljsei-ved  analogous  symptoms  in  almost  every 
person  affected  by  diurnal  j)ollutions,  I  made  further  in- 
quiries respecting  the  attack  in  which  it  was  supposed  the 
right  side  had  been  paralyzed,  and  I  was  soon  convinced 
that  the  intellectual  powers  had  been  wanting,  and 
not  the  power  in  the  hand  which  held  the  pen  ;  both 
sides  of  the  body  had,  in  fact,  retained  an  equal  degree 
of  strength.' 

"  Struck  by  a  remark  of  Dr.  Butini,  respecting  the 
progress  of  the  disease  soon  after  marriage,!  made  inqui- 
ries of  Madam  De  S.,  and  learned  that  the  character  of 
her  husband  had  become  so  uncertain  and  tormenting, 
that  his  friends  thought  he  must  be  unhappy  in  his  mar- 
riage. I  then  sus'pected  that  the  origin  of  the  patient's 
disease  had  been  mistaken  ;  and  I  requested  that  his 
urine  might  be  kept  for  my  inspection.  The  appearance 
of  the  urine  was  sufficient  to  convince  me  that  my  suspi- 
cions were  well  founded  ;  it  was  n])aque,  thick,  of  a  foetid 
and  nauseous  odor,  resembling  tliat  of  water  in  which 
anatomical  specimens  had  been  macerated.  By  pouring 
it  ofT  slowly,  I  obtained  a  fiocculent  cloud,  like  a  verv 
thick  decoction  of  barley ;  a  gluey,  ropy,  greenish 
matter  remained,  strongly  adherent  to  the  bo'ttom  of  the 
vessel,  and  thick  globules  of  a  yellowish,  white  color, 
non-adherent,  like  dro]js  of  pus,  were  mixed  with 
this  deposit.  I  was  therefore  convinced,  that  Sper- 
matoiThcca  existed,  together  with  chronic  inflamma- 
tion of  the  prostate  gland  and  suppuration  in  the 
kidneys. 


207 


"  Notvfithstancling  the.  state  of  M.  De  S's  intellect,  J 
was  able,  at  a  favorable  moment,  to  obtain  further  in^ 
formation : — At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  had  contracted 
blennorrhagia ;  this  he  carefully  concealed,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  curing  by  the  nse  of  refrigerant  drinks.  The 
following  year  the  blennorrhagia  returned,  and  was  re- 
moved by  astringents.  Two  years  afterwards,  from 
drinking  freely  of  beer  while  heated,  the  discbarge  again 
appeared,  and  after  some  time  it  again  returned,  from  the 
etf'ects  of  horse-exercise.  Since  that  time  M.  De  S.  had 
felt  little  sexual  desire,  and  had  abstained  from  inter- 
course without  regret.  Ejaculation  during  coitus  had 
always  been  very  rapid. 

"  Fully  convinced  by  combining  all  these  circumstan- 
ces, 1  explained  to  M.  De  S.  the  nature  of  his  disease,  and 
he  promised  me  to  observe  carefully.  The  next  day  he 
called  me  aside,  and  told  me  that  the  last  drops  of  nrine 
were  viscid,  and  that  during  an  evacuation  of  the  bowels, 
he  had  passed  a  sufficient  quantity  of  a  similar  matter  to 
till  the  palm  of  his  hand. 

"  Eight  days  after,  another  attack  of  cerebral  con- 
gestion occurred,  followed  by  stentorous  breathing,  cold 
skin,  and  an  inappreciable  pulse  ;  the  patient  fell  into  a 
kind  of  syncope,  of  which  he  died  on  the  1st  of  March, 
1824." 

Every  few  weeks  I  have  cases  as  nearly  as  possible  to 
the  above,  and  find  it  is  the  fault  of  the  treatment  used 
for  the  cure  of  the  gonorrhoea — using  astringent  or  caus- 
tic injections  and  such  medicines  as  copaiba,  cubebs,  &c. 
Yet  this  treatment  is  still  universally  followed.  By  my 
own  treatment  in  these  cases,  I  find  no  trouble  in  curing 
them — in  almost  every  instance,  within  twenty-four 
hours — whether  they  are  of  recent  or  of  years'  standing  ; 
and  I  have  never  lost  a  patient,  notwithstanding  many 
were  of  the  most  horrible  description  of  constitutional 
venereal  affections. 

Constipation  is  occasionally  the  cause  of  Sperma- 
torrhoea, as  I  have  before  stated ;  but  very  few  would 
suppose,  however,  that  it  could  have  the  effect  which 
sometimes  follows  from  it. 

The  next  Case  will  convince  the  most  skeptical — 
though  it  is  seldom  we  have  so  severe  a  case — they  arc 
generally  pretty  bad. 


208 


'*  M.  De  B.  consulted  me,  (says  M.  Lallemand).  in  the 
month  of  May,  1834,  respecting  a  cerebral  alfection,  on 
whose  nature'  distinguished  physicians  could  not  agree, 
but  which  all  reganled  as  very  serious. 

"  He  was  of  middle  height,  with  a  large  chest,  and  a 
well-developed  muscular  system,  his  hair  brown  and  cur* 
ly,  his  beard  thick,  his  face  full  and  deeply  colored.  Not- 
withstanding these  signs  of  apparent  strength  and 
health,  I  noticed  that  his  knees  were  slightly  bent,  and 
that  he  was  unable  to  remain  long  standing,  without 
shifting  the  weight  of  his  body  from  one  leg  to  the  other; 
his  voice  was  weak  and  husky,  the  motions  of  his  tongue 
.scenied  embarrassed,  and  he  articulated  his  words  in  a 
confused  manner  ;  his  attitude  was  timid,  and  his  manner 
had  something  of  incertitude  and  fear ;  he  had  been 
married  fifteen  days.  His  mothei'-in-law  and  his  young 
wife,  who  accompanied  him,  informed  me,  that  within 
this  period  he  had  had  several  attacks  of  congestion  of 
the  brain,  during  which  his  face  was  highly  injected. 
At  the  flret  of  these  attacks,  the  surgeon,  called  in  the 
night,  had  bled  him  to  the  extent  oi'  three  pounds,  in 
order  to  prevent  apoplexy  ;  repeated  venesection,  and 
the  frequent  application  of  leeches  had  rehevcd  such 
attacks  of  congestion,  but  had  not  prevented  their  re- 
currence. The  patient  had  become  subject  to  attacks 
of  vertigo,  and  was  unable  to  look  upwards  without 
feeling  giddy ;  his  legs  had  become  so  weak  that  he  had 
fallen  several  times,  even  when  walking  on  level  ground. 
His  ideas  had  lost  their  clearness,  and  his  memory  failed 
rapidly. 

"  These  symptoms  had  spread  consternation  through 
both  the  family  of  my  patient,  and  that  of  his  wife,  espe- 
cially as  several  pmctitioners  of  reputation  were  agreed 
as  to  the  existence  of  some  serious  disease  of  the  brain, 
although  they  could  not  decide  as  to  its  nature.  Most  of 
them,  however,  were  inclined  to  suspect  ramollissement 
(softening).  The  countenance  of  the  patient,  during  this 
recital,  the  coincidence  of  the  congestion,  with  the  period 
of  his  marriage,  and  the  bad  ctfects  of  blood-letting, 
made  me  suspect  the  nature  of  the  disorder,  and  induced 
me  to  question  the  patient,  separately. 


209 


"  When  we  were  alone  he  told  me,  stammering,  that  an 
ancxpected  occurrence,  immediately  after  his  marriage, 
had  at  first  prevented  any  conjugal  intimacy,  and  that 
afterwards  ho  had  found  himself  completely  impotent. 
He  attributed  tliis  misfortune  to  the  attack-s  of  cerebral 
congestion,  and  to  the  bleedings  he  had  undergone.  On 
further  in^piiiy.  however,  I  discovered  that  he  wtus  affected 
))y  diurnal  pollutions. 

'•  The  following  is  the  history  I  obtained  from  this  pa- 
tient, by  dint  of  c|ucstioning  : — At  the  age  of  sixteen,  he 
possessed  a  very  strong  constitution  and  ardent  and  paa- 
sionate  character.  At  school  he  contracted  the  habit  of 
masturbation,  and  at  the  end  of  three  months  he  had 
frequent  noctural  pollution?,,  with  pain  in  the  chest, 
and  troublesome  palpitations,  which  warned  him  of  the 
danger  of  the  vice,  and  he  renounced  it  forever.  "When 
he  became  free  from  the  restraints  of  school,  he  subdued 
the  ardor  of  his  temperament,  by  the  most  violent  exer- 
cises— especially  that  of  the  chase — and  he  attached  him- 
self to  agricultural  pursuits,  with  much  energy.  This 
new  mode  of  life  so  completely  reestablished  his  health, 
that  he  was  tormented  by  energetic  and  contiimal  erec- 
tions, to  subdue  which  he  employed  river  baths,  even  in 
the  coldest  seasons.  He  never  committed  excesses  of 
any  kind,  and  had  never  suffered  from  any  blennorrhagic 
or  syphilitic  affection.  In  1S31,  the  erections  were 
slightly  mitigated,  but  he  became  very  much  constipa- 
ted, which  he  attributed  to  the  constant  use  of  horse- 
exercise.  In  1832,  he  experienced  some  numbness  and 
creeping  sensations  in  his  feet  and  legs.  In  1833,  fre- 
quent dazzling  of  sight  occurred,  with  vertigo,  difficulty 
of  vision,  and  flushes  of  heat  towards  the  head  and 
face.  The  patient  attributed  all  these  sjmiptoms  to  the 
eflfects  of  his  still  increasing  constipation.  At  the  same 
time  that  these  symptoms  occuiTcd,  the  patient's  erec- 
tions became  rarer,  less  energetic,  and,  after  a  time,  in- 
complete ;  his  fitness  for  intellectual  labor  diminished  ; 
the  cerebral  congestions  became  more  frequent  and  more 
severe ;  his  face  became  habitually  very  red,  his  head 
burning,  and  almost  constant  fixed  pain  came  on 
in  the  orbits,  and  his  chai-acter  became  ficklo  and  conti-a- 
dictory. 

•'His  family  physician,  attributing  all  these  disorders 


210 


to  a  state  of  plethora,  caused  blood  to  be  diawii  several 
times,  without  benefit. 

'•  In  March,  1834,  M.  De  D.  engaged  himself  to  a  young 
lady,  who  lived  about  two  leagues  from  his  estate  ;  and 
in  order  to  visit  her  without  neglecting  the  care  of  hia 
property,  he  was  obliged  to  make  long  and  frequent 
journeys  on  horseback.  Shortly  before  his  marriage 
the.-t^e  journeys  became  so  frequent  that  he  might  be 
said  to  pass  the  greater  part  of  his  time  on  horseback. 
His  constipation  increased  to  such  a  degree  that  he 
passed  forty  days  without  foecal  evacuation.  During 
iiis  efforts  at  stool,  he  passed  semen  in  largo  quantities, 
and  in  jets,  although  the  penis  remained  flaccid.  He 
had  previously  several  times  noticed  the  same  occiu'- 
rence,  but  as  he  attriljutcd  it  to  his  long-continued  conti- 
nence, lie  paid  little  attention  to  the  circumstance.  Hw 
urine  was  constantly  muddy  ;  it  was  passed  slowly  and 
with  dilficulty,  and  threw  down  a  large  quantity  of  thick 
and  flocculent  deposit. 

"  M.  De  13.  awaited  the  period  of  his  marriage  with  a 
vague  uneasiness,  of  which  he  could  not  imagine  the 
cause.  He  was  much  attached  to  his  betrothed,  but  nev- 
ertheless, he  experienced  more  embai-rassment  than 
plea.sm-e  m  her  society. 

•'  I  have  ah-eady  stated  what  occurred  aftei  his  mar- 
riage. I  should  add  that,  having  examined  his  genital 
organs,  I  tbuud  them,  contrary  to  my  exiiectations,  of 
unusual  development ;  tlie  testicles  were  large  and  firm, 
bat  the  scrotum  was  shghtly  relaxed.  The  patient  ex- 
periejaced  a  strangling  in  the  organs,  and  at  times  felt  as 
if  they  were  compressed  by  a  hand  of  iron.  These  sen- 
sations increased  when  near  his  wife,  and  the  penis 
diminished  in  size  and  became  retracted  towards  the 
pnbcs,  in  proportion  as  he  endeavored  to  excite  erection. 
The  union  of  all  these  circumstances  could  not  permit 
any  doubt  to  remain  on  my  mind  as  to  the  nature  of  his 
disease.  It  became  evident  that  all  idea  of  cerebral  ai- 
fcction  mu.st  ))e  abandoned,  aud  that  the  diui'ual  pollu- 
tions, with  all  the  symptoms  of  which  they  were  the 
cause,  miv-t  be  refeiTed  to  the  patient's  constipation. 
The  first  indication  to  be  fulfilled,  therefore,  Wiis  to  re- 
lieve the  constipation  ;  indeed,  I  hoped  that  wad  all 
that  would  be  necessary.    The  youth  of  the  patient,  the 


211 

development  of  his  genital  organs,  and  the  strecgth  of 
his  constitution  induced  m-e  to  suppose  thart  his  cure  was 
prompt  and  easy.  Things  did  not,  however,  follow  so 
simple  a  course.  The  next  daj%  the  patient  began  to 
ase  ascending  douches ;  and  was  put  on  a  vegetable 
diet,  with  iced-milk. 

"The  first  douches  caused  the  evacuation  of  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  foecar  matter  in  lumps,  as  hard  as 
bullets,  and  it  was  not  till  after  the  sixth  douche  that 
the  foeces  were  of  normal  consistence.  I  then  caused 
the  temperature  of  the  water  to  be  lowered  to  about  88° 
of  Fahrenheit,  and  afterwards  to  81°.  The  last  few 
douches  were  given  at  6S^  Fahrenheit.  After  the 
twelfth  douche  bad  been  administered,  they  were  omit- 
ted, the  bowels  having  acted  regularly  every  day,  with- 
out the  necessity  of  the  slightest  straining.  By  this 
time  the  patient's  countenance  had  lost  its  purple  tint, 
and  presented  a  more  natural  appearance  ;  the  straining 
sensations  of  which  he  had  complained,  diminished  by 
degrees,  and  at  length  disappeared  entirely ;  his  legs 
regained  their  strength,  and  he  was  able  to  continue  in 
a  standing  position  for  a  long  time  without  fatigue,  and 
to  take  long  walks  without  inconvenience  ;  his  voice 
resumed  its  natural  tone  ;  his  eye  regained  its  expression, 
and  all  his  motions  acquired  firmness.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  a  fortnight  the  spermatic  discharges  during  defa- 
cation  had  ceased  entirely;  but  his  urine  still  continued 
thick  His  erections  had  already  acquired  sufficient  en- 
ergy to  make  him  believe  himself  cured ;  but  ejaculation 
took  place  almost  immediately.  The  use  of  ice  and 
cold  lotions,  did  not  ameliorate  his  condition. 

"  Such  was  INI.  De  B's  state,  at  the  end  of  a  month, 
when,  in  order  to  act  directly  on  the  orifices  of  the 
ejaculatory  ducts,  I  determined  to  cauterize  the  pros- 
tatic portion  of  the  urethra  As  soon  as  the  inflam- 
mation had  subsided,  his  erections  became  more  per- 
fect and  energetic,  yet  ejaculation  still  took  place  too 
rapidly 

"The  period  for  using  the  mineral  water  having  ar- 
rived, I  sent  M.  De  B.  to  Aix,  in  Savoy,  where  I  visit- 
ed him  shortly  after.  He  had  experienced  veiy  little 
benefit  from  the  uso  of  the  waters,  either  oxtei-nally  at 
'Uternally 


212 

"  I  now  prescribed  douches,  alternately  very  warm 
and  very  cold,  en  the  perineum  and  loin?,  the  spnit  be- 
ing changed  when  the  sensation  of  either  cold  or  heat 
became  very  intense.  The  bath  was  ended  after  about 
twenty  or  twenty-five  minutes,  by  the  cold  douche,  and 
the  patient's  skin  remained  highly  injected  for  some 
hours  afterwards.  The  effects  of  these  douches  were 
conclusive.  After  tlie  first,  the  patient's  erections  ac- 
quired a  degree  of  vigor  and  duration  which  reminded 
him  of  his  early  torments.  He  continued  the  use  of  the 
douches  for  some  time  after  his  re-establishment ;  and 
when  he  left  Ai.x,  the  functions  of  his  genital  organs 
were  i)erfect.  Ejaculation  was  a  good  deal  protracted 
by  the  use  of  the  douches. 

"  I  have  entered  into  a  somewhat  lengthy  detail  of 
this  case,  because  the  subject  affects  gravely  the  most 
seriousj  interests  of  society  as  well  as  the  happiness  and 
peace  of  families.  Besides,  I  confess  that  I  was  much 
interested  by  the  unhappy  position  of  a  young  man 
whose  misfortune  was  undeserved,  and  could  not  haA'e 
been  forseen,  as  well  as  by  that  of  his  wife — a  young 
woman,  scarcely  of  age,  who  was  obliged  to  enter  into 
the  most  unpleasant  details. 

_"  It  is  evident  that  in  the  case  of  M.  De  B.  the  con- 
stipation was  the  cause  of  the  involuntary  seminal  dis- 
charges. The  patient  had  practiced  masturbation,  it  is 
true,  and  nocturnal  emissions  followed  ;  but  he  had  con- 
tinued the  vice  only  three  months,  and  his  health,  though 
disordered  fur  a  short  time,  was  soon  re-established  by 
the  use  of  violent  exercise. 

"M.  De  B.  was  even  tormented  for  several  years  by 
erections,  which  must  have  been  very  energetic,  if  wo 
judge  by  the  means  he  took  to  subdue  them.  From 
this  time  he  had  never  committed  any  kind  of  excess, 
and  he  had  never  suffered  from  either  syphilis  or  blen- 
norrhagia.  There  is  then  no  circumstance  in  the  history 
of  his  life,  except  his  constipation,  which  would  account 
for  the  involuntary  discharges. 

"  But  to  what  is  this  constipation  to  be  referred  1 
After  all  I  could  learn  from  the  patient  concerning  hia 
mode  of  life,  I  could  only  refer  it  to  his  constant  horse 
exercise.  In  facli,  M.  Do  B.  sometimes  pa.ssed  whole 
days  on  horseback,  either  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  or 


213 

of  superin-tendtng  the  management  of  his  property. 
Shortly  before  his  marriage,  his  rides  became  more 
frequent  and  longer,  and  his  bowels  at  this  time  did  not 
act  during  forty  days.  The  weakness  of  his  legs,  the 
stunning  sensations,  &c.,  increased  ia  proportion  as  hia 
costiveness  became  more  confirmed. 

"This  case  recalls  to  my  mind  the  well-known  ob- 
servation of  Hij^pocrates  ou  the  impotence  of  the  Scy- 
thians, and  I  have  no  doubt  that  his  opinion  was  found- 
ed on  analogous  facts.  I  shall  treat  this  subject  more 
fully  in  another  place ;  but  since  at  present  1  am  con- 
sidering the  causes  of  Spermatorrhoea  which  act  on  the 
seminal  vesicles  through  the  influence  of  the  rectum,  I 
report  this  striking  case,  showing  the  effects  of  long- 
continued  horse-exercise. 

"M.  De  B.  was  accustomed  to  nutritious  food,  and 
of  a  well-marked  sanguineous  temperament ;  he  had  a 
large  chest,  powerful  muscles,  and  a  highly-injected 
countenance  ;  it  is  therefore  by  no  means  extraordinary 
that  he  should  have  been  bled  frequently  for  the  relief 
of  the  cerebral  congestions  to  which  he  was  subject.  On 
the  night  of  his  marriage  the  blood  rushed  to  his  head 
with  greater  force  than  ever,  so  that  an  attack  of  apo- 
plexy was  much  feared.  The  weakness  of  the  legs,  the 
frequent  falls  and  the  attacks  of  vertigo,  were  therefore 
afterward  attributed  to  an  advanced  stage  of  disease  of 
the  brain.  This  was  a  very  natural  opinion,  but  it  was 
an  incorrect  one  ;  I  doubted  it  from  the  commencement, 
although  the  patient  was  brought  to  me  in  consequence 
of  a  supposed  cerebral  affection.  I  formed  a  different 
impression,  because  I  had  previously  seen  many  analo- 
gous cases. 

"  There  existed  in  all  these  patients  something  pecu- 
liar in  the  expression  of  the  eyes,  in  the  position,  in  the 
voice,  and  in  the  general  appearance ;  something  of 
timidity  and  bashfulness,  which  I  am  unable  to  express, 
but  which  is  instantly  recognized  by  the  experienced, 
although  perhaps  it  is  incapable  of  explanation.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  tho  relation  of  the  above  case  should 
draw  attention  to  tho  subject. 

"  I  admit  that  venesections  seemed  to  be  clearly  indi- 
cated in  the  case  of  M.  De  B.,  but  the  loss  of  blood 
revei  produced  good  effects,  either  immediate  or  remote  • 


214 

and  by  analyzing  the  case  carefully,  his  attendants 
would  have  seen  that  under  this  treatment  the  attacks 
increased  in  frequency.  But  pre-convictions  throw  a 
thick  veil  over  the  most  acute  perceptions.  The  as- 
cending douches  put  an  end  to  the  constipation .;^but 
freedom  of  foecal  evacuation  did  not  suffice  to  cure  the 
disease.  The  seminal  discharges,  during  the  passage 
of  fceces,  diminished,  indeed,  or  perhaps  entirely  ceased, 
but  the  patient's  urine  remained  thick  and  muddy,  and 
his  erections  were  incomplete.  The  application  of  ice 
and  of  the  nitrate  of  silver,  and  the  use  of  sulphurous 
waters,  were  not  sufficient  to  effect  this  cure  ;  yet  there 
could  not  have  existed  any  organic  change  in  his  genital 
organs.  We  can,  therefore,  only  attril)ute  the  continu- 
ance of  the  seminal  discharge,  during  the  emptying  of  the 
bladder,  to  relaxation  of  the  ejaculatory  canals,  pro- 
duced by  their  long  habit  of  allowing  the  semen  to 
escape  in  a  passive  manner — showing  how  necessary  it 
is  to  put  an  end  to  the  habit  as  early  as  possible." 

Every  patient  after  reading  this  case,  will  at  once  see 
the  injury  which  is  caused  by  using  the  mechanical  in- 
struments that  are  advertised  for  sale,  and  warranted  to 
be  the  only  sure  cure  of  the  emissions,  by  preventing 
them  from  taking  place.  Such  rings,  by  being  placed 
over  the  penis  while  it  is  in  its  natural  state,  of  course 
becomes  tight  and  causes  pain,  when  an  erection  takes 
place,  thereby  waking  the  patient ;  not,  however,  before 
the  semen  leaves  the  ducts  and  reaches  the  canal, 
which  must  then  either  pass  out  entirely  or  recede  into 
the  bladder,  causing  all  the  serious  affections  heretofore 
witnessed  in  the  preceding  cases,  as  well  as  many  more, 
in  the  after  part  of  the  work.  1  shall  also  there  speak 
fully  on  the  different  appliances  that  have  been  tried,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  medication  generally  adopted. 

The  next  Case  shows  the  effects  of  worms  in  the 
rectum,  not  only  producing  but  keeping  up  Spermatorr- 
hoea, and  also  in  being  the  original  cause  of  mastm-ba- 
tion,  even  in  young  children. 


"M.  K.,  a  student  of  medicine,  (says  Lallemand), 
enjoyed  good  health  in  his  childhood,  but  about  the  age 


215 

of  fifteen  was  tormented  by  prolonged  and  frequent 
erections.  One  evening,  for  the  relief  of  the  itching  of 
which  the  extremity  of  the  penis  was  the  seat,  he  rubbed 
the  organ  violently  between  his  hand?.  This  led  to  the 
'establishment  of  the  habit  of  masturbation  as  a  habit, 
or  rather  as  a  passion,  the  patient  practicing  it  some- 
times as  often  as  eight  or  ten  times  a  day.  His 
health,  by  degrees,  became  so  altered  that  one  of  his 
friends  suspected  his  practice,  and  told  him  the  danger 
of  his  situation.  By  degrees  he  corrected  himself,  though 
not  entirely,  before  he  had  attained  his  twentieth  year. 
On  his  renouncing  masturbation,  nocturnal  emissions 
supervened,  and  often  occurred  two  or  three  times  a 
night.  They  diminished  after  a  time,  but  without 
ceasing  entirely,  and  seminal  emissions  during  defacation 
and  the  emission  of  urine,  were  added  to  them.  Thus 
his  health  became  more  and  more  disorderedj  for  nine 
years,  notwithstanding  absolute  continence,  a  severe 
regimen,  and  the  use  of  sedatives,  tonics,  and  anti-spas- 
modics.  At  length  he  grew  incapable  of  any  mental 
exertion. 

"  In  1837,  he  came  to  Montpelier,  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-nine, in  the  following  condition  -—extreme  emacia- 
tion, face  pale,  appearance  stupid,  and  confused,  intel- 
lect dull,  reasoning  powers  much  affected,  the  patient 
being  incapable  of  connecting  two  ideas  on  the  most 
simple  topic  of  conversation  ;  loss  of  memory,  constant 
headache,  referred  to  the  forehead  and  temples  and  in- 
creased by  any  mental  excitement,  being  then  accom- 
panied by  nervous  tremors,  and  an  almost  idiotic  state 
sleep  broken  and  unrefreshing,  constant  sighing,  frequent 
aUaeks  of  congestion  of  the  head,  especially  at  nieht 
violent  noise  in  the  ears,  resembling  the  sound  of  a  water- 
lall,  vertigo  stunning  sensations,  giving  rise  to  a  con- 
stant fear  of  apoplexy,  timidity  carried  to  a  ridiculous 
extent,  panics  of  fear,  even  during  the  day,  character 
gloomy,  taciturn,  restless  and  irritable,  horror  of  the 
least  noise  and  of  all  society,  iiresistible  restlessness 
great  weakness,  abundant  sweats  after  every  sli<rht  ex- 
ertion, almost  co.nstant  coryza,  frequent  dry  and  hard 
cough,  pains  in  the  base  of  the  chest,  the  region  of  the 
heart  and  along  the  spinal  column,  appetite  voracious, 
draggmg  at  the  pit  of  the  stom.-.eh,  difficult  digestion 


210 

accompanied  with  the  development  of  flatus,  grinding  of 
the  teeth  during  sleep,  burning  at  the  point  of  the 
tongue,  darting  paius  in  the  bowels,  especially  in  the 
rectum,  obstinate  constipation,  alteraating  with  violent 
attacks  of  diarrhoea,  stools  containing  much  mucus  and 
sometimes  streaked  with  blood,  periodical  pains  at  the 
margin  of  the  anus,  in  the  perineum,  penis  and  testicles, 
urine  passed  in  large  quantities  and  very  frequeutl}', 
always  throwing  down  a  whitish,  thick  and  very  abun- 
dant deposit,  involuntary  emissions  during  defecation, 
both  when  constipated  and  relaxed,  frequent  and  pro- 
longed erections,  by  day  as  well  as  by  night,  with  con- 
stant presence  of  erratic  ideas. 

"  On  sounding  this  patient,  I  found  the  urethra  very 
sensitive,  especially  towards  the  nock  of  the  bladder, 
and  I  consequently  thought  that  the  nocturnal  and  diur- 
nal pollutions  were  kei^t  up  by  a  state  of  irritation, 
arisuig  from  masturbation.  I  therefore  proposed  cau- 
terization. This  was  performed  on  the  following  day, 
and  produced  the  usual  immediate  effects,  but  its  cura- 
tive ofTects  did  not  take  place  as  I  had  anticipated.  I 
then  directed  the  patient  to  notice  his  foeces,  and  a  few 
days  afterwards  he  told  me  that  he  had  observed  nume- 
rous little  worms  passed  in  his  stools.  I  now  ordered 
enema  of  cold  water,  and  salt  and  water,  which,  how- 
ever, produced  only  a  momentary  effect— probably  be- 
cause the  ascarides  inhabited  the  upper  part  of  the  in- 
testine. A  few  doses  of  calomel,  however,  caused  them 
to  disappear  without  returning  ;  and  from  this  moment, 
the  involuntary  diurnal  emissions  ceased  entirely,  the 
nocturnal  emissions  became  more  aud  more  rare,  and 
the  patient's  re-establishment  progressed  very  rapidly. 

"M.  R.  returned  to  his  studies  with  ardor,  and  long 
afterwards  all  functions  were  perfectly  well  performed" 
It  appears  evident  that  the  irritation  caused  by  the 
ascarides  in  the  rectum,  first  led  this  patient  to  practice 
masturbation,  aud  afterwards  kept  up  invduntary  scm- 
mal  discharges.  I  did  not  discover  this  at  first,  because 
the  history  of  his  case,  sent  rm  by  the  patient,  was  so 
long,  and  was  characterized  by  such  disorder  and  want 
of  clearness,  that  I  was  unable  to  arrive  at  any  satis- 
factory conclusions  from  such  a  chaos  ;  his  answers  were 
still  more  vague  and  unconnected,  so  that  my  attention 


217 

had  been  chiefly  attracted  to  the  state  of  his  intellect 
and  the  abuses  he  had  committed.  But  after  seeing  the 
little  success  of  cauterization,  and  again  reading  hia 
notes,  I  paid  more  attention  to  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing the  commencement  of  his  practicing  masturbation, 
and  I  noticed  several  symptoms  to  which  I  had  not  be- 
fore attached  importance — such  as  grinding  of  the  teeth 
during  sleep,  burning  pain  in  the  point  of  the  tongue, 
fjain  in  the  rectum  and  at  the  margin  of  the  anus,  the 
stools  always  containing  mucus  and  sometimes  being 
streaked  with  blood,  and  especially  the  frequency  and 
durations  of  the  erections,  and  the  constant  presence  of 
erotic  ideas." 

I  often  have  cases,  of  both  sexes,  where  the  original 
cause  of  the  habit  was  traced  to  these  Uttle  tormentors, 
and  which  of  course,  by  the  proper  treatment,  would 
have  prevented  all  that  misery  and  inroad  upon  the 
health  of  the  person,  which  the  result  of  the  habit  or 
loss  of  semen  caused  by  their  irritation,  without  even 
having  fallen  into  the  practice  itself.  Their  existence 
in  the  rectum  causes  an  inflammation,  which  being  con- 
tiguous to  the  seminal  vesicles,  produce  the  erotic  ideas, 
as  mentioned  in  the  preceding  case.  Parents  should  not 
only  be  aware  of  this  fact,  but  the  physician  should 
make  it  his  business  to  inquire  particularly  if  any  of 
these  results  have  supervened ;  if  so,  by  their  being 
treated  at  once  in  a  proper  manner,  aU  farther  difficul- 
ties are  prevented.  This  one  faet  in  itself  should  be 
sufiicieut  to  convince  every  one,  of  the  absurdity  of  at- 
tributing these  complaints  to  immoral  ideas,  and  that 
those  afflicted  would  not  have  been  so,  if  moral  suasion 
had  been  taught  them  at  the  proper  time. 

There  is  a  fault  cf  the  victims  themselves  equally  as 
great ;  that  is,  the  desire  of  keeping  their  compLaint  an 
entire  secret.  This  often  is  the  cause  of  the  most  de- 
plorable cases  I  meet  with,  for  they  allow  themselves  to 
suffer,  because  they  dislike  to  consult  a  physician  for 
such  a  complaint,  or  because  they  have  not  arrived  at 
that  age  which  enables  them  to  command  the  money  ne- 
cessary^ without  their  parents  becoming  acquainted  with 
theu'  diflBculty,  or  sometime*  even  they  vvill  consult  a 
physician,  and  make  a  false  statement  of  their  case, 
hoping  he  will  be  shrewd  enough  to  discover  the  real 


218 

truth  of  the  case  himself.  I  often  have  fathers  or  mo- 
thers apply  to  me,  in  behalf  of  their  children,  -who  were 
80  timid  that  they  oould  not  prevail  upon  them  to  ap- 
ply in  person.  The  parents  of  course  became  aware 
of  their  complaints,  by  noticing  the  inroads  made  on 
their  system  or  by  -waivhing  their  suspicious  actions.  I 
have  had  many  fcn  afifecting  case  presented  to  me  in 
this  manner ;  but  I  hope  this  little  publication  will 
meet  the  eye  of  those  interested  in  time  to  prevent 
many  such  cala-mities. 

_  I  am  satisfied,  from  the  advantages  of  a  large  prac- 
tice, that  the  tendency  to  Spermatorrhoea  is  often  he- 
reditary, for  I  have  had  some  remarkable  proofs  of  it  in 
cases  of  the  same  family,  and  having  occurred  at  the 
same  age.  These  cases  have  been  so  numerous  in  so 
many  different  families,  that  I  have  not  a  single  doubt 
on  the  subject,  for  they  have  not  been  addicted  to  the 
habit  of  masturbation  nor  produced  by  any  of  the 
other  causes  heretofore  mentioned.  ,  Congenital  pre-dis- 
positions  occasionally  exist,  particularly  in  those  of  a 
nervous  disposition,  and  as  very  few  are  aware  of  the 
fact,  I  will  give  some  excellent  illlustrations,  of  these 
kind  of  eases,  from  M.  Lallemand's  note-book,  which 
fully  confirm  those  in  my  own  case-book ;  which, 
though  quite  numerous,  the  following  will,  however,  be 
sufficient  to  answer  all  purposes  : — 


_  "  In  general,  such  patients  were  of  a  sickly  constitu- 
tion and  more  or  less  marked  nervous  temperament ; 
they  had  been  delicate  from  childhood,  and  subject  to 
various  spasmodic  disorders.  Some  of  them  presented 
involuntary  twitching  of  the  muscles  of  the  face,  hesita- 
tion of  the  speech,  &c.  ;  their  imagination  was  active, 
and  their  moral  and  physical  sensibility  very  acute 
They  were  very  restless,  and  bore  contradiction  or 
mental  excitement  badly.  In  childhood  they  presented 
local  symptoms,  which  indicated  peculiar  susceptibility 
of  the  urinary  organs,  every  impression  of  fear  or  anxi- 
ety showing  itself  in  this  direction.  What  would  have 
produced  shuddering  or  palpitation  in  other  children,  in 
them  ca'j«ed  a  secretion  of  clear  watery  urine,  which 


219 

they  were  obliged  to  discharge  frequently ,  a  sense  of 
constriction  of  the  hypogastriuin  and  a  sense  of  titilatior. 
generall}'^  accompanied  its  discharge.  This  condition 
of  the  urinary  organs  continued  more  or  less  severe  in 
all  the  cases  until  after  puberty,  when  it  became  joined 
with  other  symptoms. 

CASE   VIIT.  "*» 

"One  of  these  patients,  (continues  Lallemand),  one 
day  experienced,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  a  fit  of  irrita- 
bility and  impatience,  which,  however,  he  succeeded  in 
repressing  ;  and  he  then  felt  a  sudden  and  impetuous 
desire  of  micturation ;  whilst  emptying  his  bladder  he 
perceived  a  large  quauti%  of  purc  semen  discharged 
with  the  last  drop.s  of  urine.  This  occurrence  was  the 
forerunner  of  nocturnal  and  diurnal  emissions,  which, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  had  entirely  ruined  hi.s 
health. 


CASE   IX. 

"  Another,  at  the  moment  of  competition  for  a  college 
prize,  was  unable  to  find  an  expression  he  wanted ;  at 
the  same  time  he  felt  a  want  to  make  water,  which  he 
resisted  by  firmly  crossing  his  legs  ;  but  his  impatience 
increased,  and  he  shortly  experienced  an  abundant 
emission  without  either  erection  or  pleasure. 


"  A  third  patient  suffered  in  the  same  way,  under 
similar  circumstances ;  he  saw  the  moment  approach  for 
sending  in  his  thesis  ;  the  more  he  endeavored  to  hurry, 
the  less  freely  his  expressions  flowed ;  at  length,  on 
hearing  the  clock  strike,  he  sulfered  from  so  great 
mental  disorder  that  he  nearly  fainted  j  at  this  moment 
emission  took  place. 


**'A  fourth  having  mounted  on  a  gutter  of  a  hi^h 
house  to  take  some  sparrows'  nests,  looked  down  into  the 


220 

court  below,  and  was  suddenly  seized  with  such  terror 
that  he  fainted;  on  recovering  and  escaping  from  his 
dangerous  situation,  he  found  that  he  had  liad  an  abun- 
dant seminal  pollution. 


"The  sa^^e  circumstances  occurred  to  a  fifth,  who,  in 
descending  a  ladder,  missed  his  footing,  and  fell. 


"  Another  patient  told  me  if  ho  looked  down  from  a 
height,  or  only  fancied  himself  on  the  brink  of  aprecijiice, 
he  felt  a  sense  of  contractJih  in  the  genital  organs, 
which  passed  rapidly  to  the  base  of  the  penis,  and 
ended  by  causing  an  emission. 


"  The  motion  of  a  swing  produced  the  same  effects  in 
a  seventh. 

"Almost  all  these  excitable  persons  were  exposed  to 
erection,  and  even  pollutions,  whenever  they  rode  on 
horseback.  Although  all  these  involuntary  discharges 
were  caused  by  extraordinary  circumstances,  I  should 
not  have  paid  much  attention  to  them  if  they  had  not 
been  followed  by  nocturnal  and  diurnal  pollutions, 
which  the  most  trifling  circumstance  rcnclered  very 
serious.  The  disea.se,  however,  did  not  always  put  on  a 
serious  a.spect  immediately  after  these  singular  accident.s  , 
very  often,  indeed,  it  only  injured  the  patient's  health 
long  afterwards  ;  but  as  its  gravity  could  not  be  ex- 
plained by  any  occasional  cause,  I  feel  myself  compelled 
to  admit  the  existence  of  a  congenital  increased  nervous 
susceptibility  of  the  genito-urinary  organs.  Every- 
thing indicates,  in  fact,  that  the  organs  of  these  pa- 
tients were  rather  excitable  than  weak  and  relaxed; 
and  his  condition  was  congenital,  because  manifested 
from  the  earliest  infancy.  This  excessive  sensibility  of 
the  genital  organs  is,  however,  not  always  preceded  by 
A  similar  condition  of  the  urinary  apparatus. 

"  In  all  these  cases,  tonics  and  excitants  always  pro- 


221 

duce  bad  effects ;  proving  the  genital  organs  were  not 
suffering  from  atony  or  weakness." 

The  next  Case  is  one  of  Dr.  IMcDougall's.  It  vei^ 
nearly  corresiwnds  with  the  one  from  my  own  note- 
book, which  is  the  first  Case  presented. 

CASE    XV. 

rc"^'  ■^•'  ^°®^  thirty-nine,  passed  the  early  part  of  hiA 
hfe  m  the  country,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  taking  much 
and  violent  exercise.  About  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  en- 
tered a  banking  establishment  ia  London,  in  which  by 
great  diligence  and  steadiness  of  conduct,  he  rose  before 
he  was  twenty-five,  to  the  post  of  cashier.  The  aff"airfl 
of  the  house  fell  into  disorder,  and  ultimately  a  bank- 
ruptcy occurred.  Mr.  H.,  from  the  amount  of  confidence 
reposed  m  him  by  the  partners  of  the  firm,  was  much 
harassed  by  these  unfortunate  proceedings.  Soon  after- 
wards he  became  manager  of  a  large  mercantile  estab- 
lishment in  the  city,  and  about  this  time  commence<J 
some  speeidation  in  foreign  bonds.  From  fluctuationt 
m  the  share-market,  he  was  a  loser  to  a  eonsiderabl* 
extent ,  his  mind  was  much  harassed,  and  he  began  t4 
suspect  those  about  him  of  dishonesty  towards  their  em 
ployers.  On  investigation,  these  suspicions  were  prove* 
to  be  totally  unfounded. 

"  Mr.  H  gave  way  to  great  violence  of  conduct,  an< 
resigned  his  situation.  About  this  time  his  father  died 
an4,  Mr.  H.  was  much  disappointed  at  finding  thaj 
property  which  he  had  incorrectly  believed  entailed, 
and  consequently  his,  as  eldest  son,  was  left  by  will,  tt 
be  equally  divided  between  himself  and  the  rest  of  th< 
family.  His  conduct  at  this  period  was  of  the  straugesi 
description.  He  dreaded  to  go  out  into  the  streets  ol 
the  town  where  his  family  resided,  refused  to  join  ii 
their  meals,  and  ultimately  abruptly  left  their  house  tc 
return  to  London. 

"  In  1837,  his  state  had  become  such,  that  in  conse 
quence  of  his  repeated  letters,  members  of  his  family 
visited  London,  and  on  their  return,  took  him  with  them 
into  Devonshire.  About  this  time,  his  mental  disordei 
put  on  a  decided  aspect;  and  I  had  then,  as  well  aa 
l9.ter,  ample  opportimities  of  observing  his  conduct,  ana 


222 


frequently  hciird  his  complaints.  Emissaries  were  con 
Et.intly  on  the  ECiirch  for  him,  to  arrest  him  for  unnatu- 
ral crimes  committed  in  London ;  every  one  wlio  met 
him  in  the  street,  read  in  his  countenaiice  the  crimes  he 
had  committed ;  tailors  made  the  sleeves  of  his  coatg 
the  wrong  way  of  the  cloth,  in  order  to  brand  him  with 
infauay ;  the  sight  of  a  policeman  in  the  street  alarmed 
him  beyond  measure  ;  and  often,  if  a  stranger  happened 
to  be  walking  some  little  time  in  the  same  direction  aa 
himself,  he  would  exclaim,  that  he  was  one  of  the  emis- 
saries sent  to  seize  him.  At  other  times  he  would  lock 
himself  in  his  room,  and  weep  by  the  hour. 

"  He  never  took  his  meals  with  the  family,  and  never 
tasted  food  or  drink  without  first  preserving  a  portion 
for  chemical  analy.sis,  as  he  was  convinced  his  friends 
were  in  a  conspiracy  to  poison  him  slowly,  in  order  to 
wipe  out  the  memory  of  his  crimes.  These  ideas 
haunted  him  night  and  day.  His  digestion  was  much 
di.sordered,  his  sleep  broken  and  restless,  and  his  bowels 
excessively  constipated. 

"  His  face  was  tiushed,  and  periodical  attacks  of  cere 
bral  excitement  occurred,  during  which  he  complained 
of  vertigo,  noise  in  the  head,  loss  of  sight,  &c.  He 
complained  also  of  loss  of  memory,  and  frequently  of 
bodily  weakness  and  lassitude.  The  best  medical  advice 
the  neighborhood  afforded  was  obtained,  unavailingly  ; 
the  opinions  of  the  gentlemen  consulted  were  that  Mr 
H.  was  laboring  under  aggravated  hypochondriasis, 
complicated  with  monomania.  Various  cau.ses  were 
suggested  as  giving  rise  to  the  disorder,  but  no  previous 
ca,se  of  insanity  was  recollected  in  any  branch  of  the 
family. 

"  Mr.  H.  now  began  to  talk  of  leaving  England,  for 
America,  in  order  to  avoid  his  persecutors ;  and  to  pre- 
vent this  he  was  placed  under  the  care  of  a  private 
keeper.  While  with  this  person,  he  frequently  and  bit- 
terly complained  of  constant  pollutions,  while  at  stool, 
with  darting  pain,  and  a  sense  of  weight  between  the 
rectum  and  bladder.  He  had  also  urethral  irritation,  at- 
tended with  discharge,  pains  in  the  loins  and  one 
groin,  weakness  of  his  legs,  thick  urine,  piles  ajid  cos- 
tiveness.  He  kept  a  diary  at  this  time,  which  is  at 
present  in  my  hands.     Not  a  day  is  passed  in  this  diary, 


22a 


without  m<Miti on  of  the  distressing  seminal  discharges 
from  which  he  suffered.  These  were  treated  as  of  no 
importance  by  his  medical  attendants,  although  ha 
never  ceased  to  complain  of  them,  and  solicited  aid,  so 
long  as  he  continued  in  confinement  in  England. 

"  When  led  away  from  his  disorder  into  any  discus 
sion  on  public  matters,  ho  was,  however,  a  most  amusing 
and  instructive  companion  ;  as  a  man  of  business  he  was 
equally  acute,  and  to  a  stranger,  as  long  as  nothing  was 
done  to  offend  him,  he  was  to  all  appearance,  a  man  of 
observation  and  experience  in  life. 

"  For  about  two  years  and  a  half  ho  was  under  the 
care  of  various  gentlemen,  devoted  to  the  insane,  and  at 
length  he  was  discharged  from  an  establishment  near 
Bath,  by  the  visiting  madistiates,  as  a  person  confined 
without  due  cause.  His  first  act  was  to  commence  legal 
proceedings  against  his  friends,  for  his  detention,  and 
having  gained  his  action,  he  immediately  proceeded  to 
London,  and  waylaid  and  violently  assaulted  a  gentle- 
man of  high  commercial  standing  in  the  citj'.  After 
this  offence,  he  was  confined  for  a  considerable  period  in 
default  of  bail,  and  immediately  on  his  liberation,  it  is 
believed  that  he  proceeded  to  America. 

"  From  this  time  nothing  was  heard  of  him  until  Sep- 
tember, 1S43,  when  a  letter  was  received  by  a  gentle- 
man who  formerly  attended  him,  in  which  he  stated  that 
the  same  course  of  persecution  was  pursued  towards  him 
in  America  as  had  been  followed  in  England.  He  com- 
plained of  not  being  able  to  obtain  efficient  medical 
treatment,  although  he  had  applied  to  the  most  eminent 
practitioners  in  Cincinnati,  and  afterwards  at  Philadel- 
phia and  New  York. 

"  After  this,  nothing  more  was  heard  of  Mr.  H.  until 
the  year  1845,  when  an  American  newspaper  was  for- 
warded to  his  friends  by  an  unknown  hand,  containing 
an  account  of  his  death  and  of  an  inquest  held  on  him, 
headed,  '  Death  of  a  Hermit  in  West  Jersey.''  It  was 
stated  that  he  had  lived  on  a  small  farm,  entii-ely  alone, 
with  the  exception  of  a  dog.  and  that  he  had  shunned 
all  intercourse  with  his  neighbors.  He  was  taken  sud- 
denly ill,  applied  to  a  neighboring  farmer  for  assistance, 
but  died  in  the  coxirse  of  the  following  day.  From  in- 
formation subsequently  obtained  by  his  friends,  it  is  be- 


224 

lieved  that  he  died  of  apoplexy,  or  perhaps  in  one  of  the 
attacks  of  congestiou  of  the  brain,  from  which  he  fre- 
quently suffered  before  he  left  his  native  country." 

The  symptoms  of  this  unfortunate  case  strongly  re- 
semble those  of  the  thirty-second  and  lifty-sixth  cases 
related  by  M.  Lallemand,  as  well  as  my  own.  It  was 
more  aggravated,  however,  and  presented  the  somewhat 
uncommon  feature  of  the  patieut'^s  discovering  the  fre- 
quent pollutions,  and  constantly  complaining  of  them  ; 
tliese,  unfortunately,  were  treated  as  matters  of  no  im- 
portance. 

Mr.  H's  insanity,  at  first,  constantly  had  reference  to 
his  having  either  committed  or  been  accused  of  commit- 
ting, unnatural  crimes  ;  and  this  idea  never  entirely  left 
him,  although  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  his 
many  prominent  hallucinations  had  reference  to  imagi- 
nary persecutors  constantly  watching  him,  and  endea- 
voring to  ruin  him,  by  spreading  false  reports,  and  to 
poison  him  by  adulterating  his  food  and  infusing  nox- 
ious gases  into  the  air.  There  can  be  little  doubt,  on 
taking  into  consideration  his  complaints  of  weights  be- 
tween the  rectum  and  bladder,  with  darting  pains,  &c., 
in  the  same  region,  that  the  pollutions  arose  from  irri- 
tation in  the  neighborhood  of  the  prostate  ;  and  I 
think  that  if  at  an  early  period  of  his  disease,  this  had 
been  relieved,  there  would  have  been  considerable  hope 
of  his  recovery,  from  the  hallucinations  he  manifested. 

The  next  case  is  also  one  of  Dr.  McDougall's,  and  is 
equally  instructive,  as  it  is  almost  an  exact  copy  of  a 
great  many  that  I  have  at  almost  all  times  under  my 
own  charge. 

CASE    XVI. 

"  The  other  case,  to  which  I  have  alluded  as  par- 
ticularly attracting  my  attention,  and  which  came 
under  my  notice  about  the  same  time,  was  that  of  a 
young  man  of  high  intellectual  power  and  general  tal- 
ents, studying  medicine.  This  gentleman  was  one  of 
my  most  constant  companions,  when,  almost  suddenly,  a 
serious  change  came  over  him.  He  shunned  society,  es- 
pecially that  of  females ;  was  morose,  tactiturn,  and 
firequqntly  shed  tears ;  he  sat  sometimes  for  houi-s  in  a 


225 

kind  of  abstraction,  on  being  aroused  from  it,  could  give 
no  explanation  of  his  thoughts  and  feelings.  He  con- 
stantly expressed  to  me  his  conviction  that  be  should 
never  succeed  in  his  profession,  and  frequently  exclaimed 
that  he  was  I'uined  both  here  and  hereafter,  body  and 
soul,  and  by  his  own  foil}'.  About  twelve  mouths  pre- 
vious to  this  depressiou  of  spirits,  he  had  a  severe  at- 
tack of  blennorrhagia,  with  orchitis  and  phymosis. 
This  left  a  degree  of  irritability  in  the  bladder,  which 
required  hira  to  pass  urine  frequently.  His  digestion 
became  so  disordered  that  the  simplest  food  would  not 
lemain  on  his  stomach,  and  he  had  frequent  eructations 
of  fluid,  which  blazed  like  oil  if  spit  into  the  fire.  This 
gentleman's  father  was  a  physician,  and  being  naturally 
anxious  for  his  son,  obtained  for  him  the  advice  of  many 
of  the  most  eminent  of  the  faculty.  No  improvement 
took  place,  however. 

"  After  he  had  been  six  months  in  this  state,  I  had 
an  opportunity  of  spending  three  weeks  by  the  sea- side, 
and  my  friend  accompanied  me.  We  slept  in  the  same 
room,  and  he  was  scarcely  ever  out  of  my  sight.  Before 
our  return,  his  health  was  almost  re-established,  and 
his  spirits  had  returned  to  their  natural  condition. 

"  Twelve  months  later,  however,  he  again  fell  into 
the  same  state  of  despondency  ;  and  this  time  his  condi- 
tion was  much  worse  than  on  the  former  occasion.  He 
frequently  remained  in  bed  three  parts  of  the  day,  and 
no  threats  or  entreaties  on  the  part  of  his  father,  could 
induce  him  to  get  up.  His  intellectual  faculties  were 
totally  prostrated,  and  a  vacant  stare,  which  took  the 
place  of  his  natural  lively  expression,  induced  consider- 
able fears  of  his  ultimately  becoming  idiotic.  I  was  the 
only  person  who  possessed  any  influence  over  him,  which 
may  perhaps  be  attributed  to  his  feeling  that  I  was 
aware  of  the  cause  of  his  disorder.  This  state  continued 
between  three  and  four  months,  during  which  time  I 
was  with  him  as  much  as  my  other  duties  would  permit, 
and  frequently  showed  him  the  folly  of  the  course  ho 
pursued.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time  he  gradually 
recovered.  He  has  since  had  a  slight  relapse,  once  only  ; 
he  has  pursued  his  professional  studies  with  success,  and 
is  at  present  a  medical  officer  in  her  Majesty's  service. 

"  On  this  case,  I  need  not  only  remark,  that  the  symp« 


226 

toms  (lid  not  arise  from  involuntary  seminal  discharges, 
but  from  excessive  discharges,  caused  by  abuse.  The 
varied  treatment  recommended  by  the  distinguished 
practitioners  consulted,  proved  unsuccessful,  because  the 
origin  of  the  disorder  was  unrecognized,  and  the  reme- 
dies consequently  useless  while  the  habits  of  abuse  were 
continued.  ' 


CllAFTEll  Vn. 


SEVERAL.  OTHER   SYMPTOMS   BY   WHICH   SPERMATORR- 
HCEA  MAY  BE   DETECTED. 

In  addition  to  the  effects  already  presented  in  the  fore- 
going pages,  it  may  be  well  to  note  some  other  symp- 
toms by  which  they  may  he  kiiown.  A  portion  are 
frequently  observed  in  other  diseases  ;  then  again  there 
are  others  which  peculiarly  belong  to  this  affection  only, 
therefore  enabling  us  to  ascertain  their  existence,  when 
a  more  positive  proof  is  not  to  be  obtained. 

M.  Lallemand  says,  that  "  The  most  abundant  noc- 
turnal pollutions  are  far  from  being  always  the  most 
hurtful ;  yet  as  they  easily  lose  their  character,  the 
habit  alone  tends  to  make  them  more  and  more  fre- 
quent. By  so  doing,  they  of  course  are  more  injurious." 
He  afterwards  says,  "  But  this  state  of  excitement  is  too 
violent  to  last  long — by  degrees  the  organs  become  fa- 
tigued. Deprived  of  their  natural  functions,  and,  con 
f?equently,  being  unstrengthened  by  regular  exercise, 
they  may  at  last  fall  into  a  state  of  atony,  or  the  sem- 
inal vesicles  may  preserve  the  habit  of  contracting, 
under  the  influence  of  slight  or  indirect  excitement. 
The  evacuations  now  produce  effects  quite  opposite  to 
those  experienced  in  the  beginning.  There  are,  on 
waking,  feelings  of  discontent,  idleness,  weight  in  the 
head,  disorder  in  the  ideas,  &c.  ;  but  this  condition 
passes  off  in  the  course  of  the  day,  and  the  patient  ia 
quite  well  on  the  following  morning,  if  no  further  emis- 
eion  takes  place.    After  a  time,  these  effects  become 


227 

more  serious  and  lasting,  and  two  or  three  days  ar< 
required  to  remove  them  entirely.  There  is,  however, 
no  disease  <as  yet,  because  the  economy  is  not  as  yet 
permanently  disordered,  but  there  is  a  degree  of  insta- 
bility iu  the  patient's  health,  a  valetudinary  condition, 
the  progress  of  which  it  is  necessary  to  arrest." 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  above  extract  that  M.  Lalle- 
mand  agrees  with  me  in  the  very  important  particular, 
that  the  very  first  involuntary  emission  should  at  once 
warn  the  patient  that  the  disagreeable  sensations  pro- 
duced by  it,  is  the  forerunner  of  the  disease  itself,  being 
in  a  rapid  course  of  full  development.  The  dreams 
themselves,  which  accompany  the  emissions  in  the  com- 
mencement of  these  cases,  are  often  erroneously  con- 
sidered as  causing  them,  when,  in  fact,  it  is  just  the 
reverse — for  it  is  the  excitement  primarily  existing  in 
the  genital  organs.  The  symptoms  are  very  much 
worse  when  the  discharge  occurs  without  being  accom- 
panied with  the  pleasurable  dreams,  and  truly  bad  when 
they  are  disagreeable.  The  diurnal  losses  are  worse 
than  the  nightly  ones,  especially  if  they  occur  spontane- 
ously or  from  exercise.  In  very  bad  cases  they  occur 
dui-iug  the  movement  of  the  bowels,  especially  if  they 
are  constipated — or  in  a  very  diseased  state  of  the  parts, 
it  will  be  lost  in  the  passing  of  the  urine.  Gravel,  and 
other  affections  of  the  surrounding  organs,  will  cause 
sufficient  irritation  to  produce  it,  and  therefore  should 
not  be  forgotten  in  searching  for  the  cause.  These  are 
the  greatest  causes  of  Impotency. 

Patients  who  come  to  me,  are,  almost  invariably,  en- 
tirely ignorant  of  their  having  lost  semen  in  this  way, 
probably  for  years,  yet  when  made  acquainted  with  the 
circumstances,  it  is  generally  very  easy  for  them  to 
detect  it,  Avhethcr  it  is  mixed  with  the  urine  or  lost  at 
the  time  of  defecation.  If  with  the  urine  there  is  a 
sensation  of  heaviness  while  passing — sometimes  there  is 
a  pricking  or  tingling  sensation — the  urine  looks  thicker 
than  usual,  and,  on  close  examination,  little  globules 
can  be  seen.  The  sensation  is  very  similar  when  the 
escape  occurs  at  the  times  of  the  passing  of  the  foeces, 
and  sometimes  a  sticky  substance  can  be  discovered 
adhering  to  the  glans.  Very  often  it  happens  that  it 
flows  away,  after  the  movement  of  the  bowels,  and  the 


228 

person  suddenly  discovers  it  when  dressing  ;  a  shock 
then  occurs,  which  is  principally  felt  in  the  peroneum 
and  at  the  neck  of  the  bladder.  In  bad  cases  it  is  very 
diflScult  to  discover  the  semen  in  the  urine,  therefore  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  never  escapes  at  the  first 
flow,  but  invariably  with  the  last  few  drops,  or  after,  as 
I  have  before  stated,  the  bladder  has  been  emptied. 
When  there  is  an  ulcerated  prostate  which  discharges 
itself  through  the  urethra,  it  would  then  require  an  ex- 
perienced physician  to  distinguish  between  the  two,  as 
that  always  comes  away  last,  while  in  cases  of  Gleet,  or 
a  discharge  from  an  inflammation  of  the  urethra  itself, 
the  discharge  is  driven  out,  ahead  of  the  urine,  and  un- 
accompanied with  the  sensations  previously  mentioned. 
Sometimes  patients  will  have  a  shaking  chill,  pain  in 
the  nipple,  and  very  often  in  the  back  of  the  neck  or  in 
the  forehead,  shooting  pains  in  different  parts  of  the 
body,  and  a  heat  around  the  anus.  If  the  disease  is  not 
checked,  the  semen  loses  its  natural  appearance  entirely, 
becoming  so  thin  that  its  character  is  totally  changed 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


IMPOTENCY,   STERILITY   AND    INFECUiVDITy. 

Persons  may  become  impotent  from  various  causes  : 
*,  long  continued  gonorrhoea,  gleet,  stricture  or  syphilis 
will  produce  it  as  well  as  sterility,  and  if  the  system  is 
t!o  tainted  or  poisoned  with  syphilis  as  to  cause  the  tes- 
jicles  to  enlarge  and  become  indurated  for  any  length  ot 
time,  there  is  danger  of  their  functions  being  entirely 
destroyed.  1  have  had  a  great  many  cases  of  this  kind, 
when  the  testicles  were  as  heavy  and  almost  as  hard  as 
a  stone,  yet,  I  am  happy  to  say,  I  succeeded  in  every  case 
in  bringing  them  again  to  "their  natural  state.  The 
emissions  destroy  the  powers  of  the  genital  organs,  from 
general  weakness,  or  totally  changing  and  destroying 
the  fecundating  properties  of  the  semen.  It  is  a  fact, 
that  the  semen,  when  healthy,  contains  animalcules, 


PLATE   22 


Fin.    V 


Ji)q.(57. 


231 


and  for  them  to  become  fully  developed,  requires  the 
semen  to  remain  a  certain  time  in  the  vas  deferens  and 
vesicles,  after  it  leaves  the  testicles,  or  the  zoospermes 
do  not  become  perfect. 

The  exact  time  necessary  for  the  semen  to  remain  in 
the  body,  after  being  formed  in  the  testes,  is  not  known, 
because  it  varies  in  different  individuals,  and  even  under 
different  circumstances  in  the  same  person.  If  the  organs 
are  healthy  at  first,  thej'  can  perfect  the  semen  more 
rapidly,  and  lose  it  often,  yet  it  will  remain  healthy ; 
but  if  the  excessive  loss  is  continued  too  long,  the  parts 
become  weakened,  and  of  course  the  semen  is  discharged 
imperfect.  That  is  the  reason  why  excess,  whether 
from  licentiousness  or  involuntary  emissions,  is  so  injuri- 
ous ;  for  instead  of  the  healthy  animalcules  which  it 
should  contain,  there  is  nothing  but  the  small  unde- 
veloped granules,  which  can,  in  bad  cases,  be  seen  in 
the  urine,  like  little  shining  points,  or  the  bran-like 
grains  observable  at  an  earKer  period.  There  are  cases 
so  ver}"^  bad,  that  the  semen  is  changed  to  a  substance 
only  a  little  thicker  than  water  ;  when  this  happens,  it 
is  incapable  of  stimulating  an  erection,  much  less  im- 
pregnation. This  is  the  reason  people  become  impotent, 
and  finally  sterile  ;  therefore,  as  we  know  the  cause,  then 
the  vital  necessity  of  the  invalids  placing  themselves 
under  the  care  of  the  proper  physician,  and  1  am  satisfied 
this  book  will  be  a  guide  to  thousands  who  have  been 
groping  in  the  dark  for  years,  till  hope  has  almost  for- 
saken them. 

I  will  here  inform  the  reader,  that  every  moment  is 
precious,  and  no  person  should  bo  indifferent  to  the 
slightest  symptoms,  and  if  you  are  young,  so  that  you 
are  not  possessed  of  pecuniary  means,  you  should  at  once 
disclose  your  situation  to  your  parents,  and  you  will  not 
fail  of  finding  the  sympathy  you  desire. 

In  a  former  page  I  mentioned  a  vitiated  state  of  the 
semen  that  would  not  stimulate  an  erection,  and  that 
the  person  would  finally  become  sterile.  There  are  cases 
of  persons,  almost  fully  possessing  that  power,  and  yet 
are  sterile  ;  the  reason  is,  that  the  habits  of  the  body 
are  still  vigorous  enough  to  continue  the  secretion  of  the 
semen,  but  it  lacks  the  health  necessary  for  the  perfect 
formation  of  the  real  life — the  animalcules.     And  I  at- 


232 

tribute  mauy  supposed  cases  of  the  barrenness  in  femalea 
to  this  defect  in  their  husband.s.  As  M.  Lallemand  was 
the  first  author  who  alluded  to  this  importaut  subject, 
his  remarks  should  be  read,  at  least  by  those  who  are 
interested,  that  they  may  fully  understand  the  subject. 

"Iiupoteuce  (says  M.  Lallemand.)  is  an  absolute 
cause  of  infecundity, because  it  prevents  the  conditions  ne- 
cessary to  fecundation  from  taking  place  ;  but  although 
the  act  of  coitus  may  be  accomplished,  it  docs  not  follow 
that  the  person  should  always  be  able  to  perpetuate  his 
species.  Stricture  of  the  urethra  may  prove  an  obstacle 
to  the  discharge  of  seminal  fluid ;  or  the  fluid  may  be 
directed  towards  the  bladder  or  the  parietcs  of  the 
urethra,  by  deviation  of  the  orifices  of  the  cjaculatory 
ducts.  The  secretion  may  be  altered  in  its  natm-c  ;  it 
may  only  contain  imperfect  spermatozoa,  &c.  A  man 
may,  therefore,  be  unfruitful  without  being  impotent 
On  the  other  hand,  I  have  met  with  many  patients, 
suffering  with  diurnal  pollutions,  who  had  children  ex- 
acUy  resembling  them,  even  during  the  duration  of 
their  disease.  Indeed,  I  have  seen  several  cases  in 
which  the  disposition  to  involuntary  discharges  were 
hereditary,  and  they  affected  both  father  and  son. 

"  The  disease  is,  however,  essentially  irregular  in  it« 
progi-ess.  It  may  continue  long,  without  doing  serious 
injury  to  the  health ;  long  remissions  may  be  experi- 
enced or  even  a  perfect  cessation  of  the  complaint,  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  time.  We  may  easily  conceive,  there- 
fore, that  in  the  first  degree,  or  during  one  of  the  periods 
of  remission,  fecundation  may  take  place.  When  the 
disease  is  further  advanced,  however,  many  causes  occur 
to  render  coitus  unfruitful.  Ejaculation  is  weak  and  pre- 
cipitate, so  that  the  seminal  fluid  cannot  be  thrown  into 
the  cavity  of  the  uterus  ;  it  is  not  suflBcient  in  order  to  fe- 
cundate, simply  to  spread  the  fluid  over  the  vagina ;  it 
must  be  projected  with  sufficient  force  to  pass  through 
the  orifice  of  the  uterine  neck.  Besides,  in  these  cases 
the  erections,  even  when  they  permit  sexual  intercourse, 
are  incomplete  and  of  very  short  duration — emission  takes 
place  witnout  energy  and  very  soon.  This  hist  symp- 
tom is  almost  invariably  present  in  almost  all  of  these 
cases;  and  whore  the  parts  are  weakened,  the  semen 
will  come  away,  without  scarcely  any  erection  of  the 


233 

penis.  But  even  in  the  most  acute  affections,  ythex  the 
erection  is  sufficiently  lasting  to  enter  the  vagina  at  all. 
it  is  only  for  a  moment,  before  the  semen  is  ejected! 
Both  married  and  single  persons  ap^ly  to  me  to  free 
them  from  this  awful  situation.  The  position  and  feel- 
ings of  both  the  male  and  female  at  this  juncture, 
can  be  more  easily  imagined  than  described,  as  this  tan- 
talizing of  the  female  o#ten  produces  the  utmost  dis- 
tress. It  is,  therefore,  easily  to  be  seen  that  during  such 
partial  acts,  the  uterus  and  fjxllopian  tubes  have  not  suf- 
ticieut  time  to  experience  the  excitement  necessary  to 
carry  the  semen  to  its  destination,  even  when  it  passes 
the  neck  of  the  uterus.  The  semen  itself  also  under- 
goes great  changes,  to  which  perhaps  the  loss  of  the  fe- 
cundating power  is  chiefly  attributable.  Microscopic 
researches  have  elucidated  this  formerly  obscure  sub- 
ject. I  have  discovered,  for  instance,  that  the  sperma- 
torrhoea undergo  changes  similar  to  those  of  the  fluid 
which  serves  as  their  vehicle  ;  these  changes  are  exceed- 
ingly important,  and  are  owing  to  defective  formation. 
Spermatorrhoea  may  be  met  with  in  a  less  thick  and  less 
opaque  fluid  than  natural,  for  they  are  not  produced  by 
the  same  parts  or  in  the  same  manner ;  but  when  the 
secretion  is  perfectly  thin  and  watery,  the  functions  are 
so  seriously  affected  that  the  animalcules  are  altered; 
they  are  less  developed,  less  opaque,  and  less  active  than 
natural ;  indeed,  they  are  so  transparent  that  pecuHav 
precautions  are  necessary  in  order  to  make  sure  of  see- 
ing them.  Their  motions  are  weak,  slow,  and  cease  very 
soon,  and  they  rapidly  undergo  decomposition.  All 
these  characteristics  show  how  much  their  texture  is  re- 
laxed, and  how  imperfectly  they  are  organized. 

"  It  is  evident,  the  least  arrest  of  development  in  the 
spermatorrhcea,  must  prove  an  insurmountable  obstacle 
to  fecundation,  even  if  the  only  function  of  the  animal- 
cules be  to  carry  the  liquor  seminis  to  the  ovum.  When, 
however,  their 'imperfect  development  only  arises  from 
a  too  rapid  formation,  it  may  soon  be  obviated.  It  suf- 
fices that  the  involuntary  discharges  should  cease,  for 
a  few  days  only,  in  consequence  of  some  accidental 
cause  or  of  one  of  the  spontaneous  changes  of  this  ex- 
traordinary disease,  in  order  for  the  desires  to  become 
more  lively,  the  erections  more  energetic  and  prolonged, 


234 


and  for  the  functions  to  b«  accomplished  in  a  Datur«V 
manner;  fecundation  is,  therefore,  possible,  as  I  hava 
previously  stated,  during;  the  whole  duration  of  one  of 
these  intermissions.  This  is  not  the  case  when  the  sper- 
matozoa are  nialfonncd,  rudimentary,  more  or  losa 
deprived  of  tail,  &c.,  for  these  changes  only  take  place 
when  there  is  a  serious  alteration  in  the  structure  of  the 
testicles.  * 

"  1  have  taken  every  opportunity  of  dissecting  the  testi- 
cles altered  in  these  cases,  and  I  have  always  found  the  se- 
creting structures  paler,  drier  and  denser  than  natural, 
and  the  cellular  tissue  more  resisting,  and  with  difficulty 
allowing  the  secreting  ducts  to  be  separated  one  from 
a,nother.  Sometimes  one-half  or  two-thirds  of  the  tes- 
ticle were  transformed  into  a  fibrous  or  tibro-cartilagin- 
ous  tissue,  mixed,  in  a  few  cases,  with  tuberculous  matter. 
It  is  the  same  also  in  the  epididymis,  when  I  have  even 
seen  traces  of  ossific  deposit  in  the  midst  of  cartilaginous 
indurations.  These  changes,  caused  by  previous  inflam- 
mation, perfectly  explain  why  the  development  of  the 
spermatozoa  can  no  longer  proceed  nominally.  Although 
in  such  cases  the  secretion  of  semen  mav  be  more  or  less 
diminished,  pollutions  may  still  be  present  if  the  seminal 
vescicles  have  shared  the  inflammation  by  which  the 
testicles  have  been  affected,  as  happens  in  most  cases  of 
orchitis  arising  from  blennorrhagia." 


"  I  have,  at  present,  a  patient  who  presents  a  re- 
markable example  of  both  these  effects  arising  from  this 
cause  ;  ho  is  now  forty-one  years  of  age,  and  had  blen- 
norrhagia, followed  by  inflammation  of  both  testicles,  a* 
twenty-five.  Soon  after  his  recovery  he  married,  but 
has  never  had  children,  although  the  act  has  been  per- 
formed regularly  if  not  frequently.  He  became  subject 
to  nocturnal  and  sometimes  to  diurnal  pollutions,  which 
increasi-d  by  degrees.  His  health  became  disordered, 
but  coitus  was  still  possible.  The  semen  passed,  al- 
though it  presented  its  characteristic  odor,  but  never 
showed,  under  the  microscope,  other  than  very  small 
and  brilliant  globules,  without  any  appearance  of  tail. 
but  easily  distinguishable  from  globules  of  mucus,  the 


235 

liaensions  of  which  are  five  or  six  times  larger.  The 
epididymis  of  both  sides  is  voluminous  and  irregular. 
One  testicle  is  adherent  to  the  skin  of  the  scrotum  and 
the  other  appears  smaller  than  natural.  MalformatioD 
of  the  spermatozoa,  therefore,  arises  from  deep-seated 
changes  in  the  tissues  of  the  testicles,  changes  which  do 
not  permit  the  animalcules  to  assume  their  normal  form, 
and,  therefore,  render  infecundity  permanent.  To  sum 
up,  then — Involmitary  seminal  discharges  may  op- 
pose fecundation  previously  to  actually  producing  im- 
potence, by  dimhiishing  the  energy  of  all  the  phe- 
nomena that  occur  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  act,  and 
by  preventing  the  complete  development  of  the  sperma- 
tazoa  as  well  as  the  elaboration  of  the  fluid  which  acta 
as  the  vehicle  for  them.  These  conditions  may  be 
rapidly  altered  by  the  simple  diminution  of  the  involun- 
tary discharges,  and  fecundation  may  again  become 
possible.  This  cannot  be  the  case,  when  infecundity 
depends  on  malformation  of  the  spermatozoa,  such  mal- 
formation arising  from  permanent  alteration  in  the 
organs  that  supply  them." 


CHAPTER  TX. 


MICROSCOPIC   EXA.^IINATIONS. 

The  immense  benefits  arising  from  the  use  of  the 
microscope  is  of  the  greatest  interest  to  every  one,  but 
mo'-c  especially  is  it  impoi-tant  to  the  surgeon.  The 
discoveries  by  it,  more  particularly  as  regards  the  pro- 
creative  functions,  are  of  a  recent  date.  M.  Lallemand 
so  fully  explains  the  proper  mode  of  pursuing  such  ex- 
aminations, that  I  will  below  insert  his  remarks.  The 
process  is  perfectly  simple  to  those  who  understand  tho 
correct  rules,  though  often  requiring  a  good  deal  of  dis- 
agreeable trouble. 

"  Microscopic  Examinations  of  the  Semen. — Since 
the  discovery  of  the  spermatozoa,  their  presence  in  the 
seminal  fluid  has  attracted  the  attention  of  all  who  have 


'36 


aought  means  of  ilLstinguishing  it  from  other  fluid? 
Microscopic  examinations  of  the  spermatozoa,  however, 
not  only  requires  an  excellent  instrument,  but  certain 
precaution?,  which  maybe  dispensed  with  in  the  invcsti 
gation  of  coarser  objects. 

"  As  the  spermatic  animalcules  can  be  only  seen  by 
means  of  transmitted  light,  it  is  necessary  that  the  glasa 
on  which  the  fluid  to  be  examined  is  placed,  should  bo 
of  uniform  thickness,  and  without  bubbles  or  striae.  The 
fluid  to  be  examined  should  bo  covered  by  another  layei 
of  extremely  thin  glass  made  for  the  purpose,  and  not  by 
portions  of  mica,  which  are  seldom  free  from  cracks,  and 
never  perfectly  transparent.  This  thin  layer  of  gla?s 
is  indispensable,  in  order  as  much  as  possible  to  diminish 
the  thickness  of  the  fluid,  to  render  it  perfectly  uniform, 
to  hinder  evaporation  and  prevent  the  object-glass  from 
being  soiled  by  it.  A  single  d-op  of  fluid  suffices  for  a 
complete  observation — a  larger  quantity  always  proving 
inconvenient. 

"  The  little  glass  that  covers  the  liquid  must  be  firmly 
pressed  down,  so  as  to  spread  it  out,  arrest  the  currents 
that  take  place  in  it,  and  drive  out  the  air-bubbles.  Al- 
though the  glasses  should  seem  to  touch  each  other,  tho 
spermatozoa  move  with  perfect  freedom  in  the  space  be- 
tween them,  so  long  a.s  they  preserve  their  energy,  and 
evaporation  has  not  proceeded  too  far  ;  should  yuch  be 
the  case,  however,  a  drop  of  tepid  water  favors  and  much 
prolongs  their  motions.  However  thin  the  layer  of  fluid 
may  be,  it  is  impossible  to  comprehend  its  whole  thick- 
ness at  once  v/ith  a  very  high  power  ;  it  is,  therefore, 
necessary  to  alter  the  foeces  frequently,  in  order  to  be 
sure  that  nothing  escapes  observation.  And  this  is  es- 
pecially important  in  examining  a  drop  of  fluid  obtained 
from  diurnal  pollutions,  because  there  are  frequently 
only  two  or  three  spermatozoa  contained  in  it.  It  is  also 
necessary  to  change  the  position  of  the  reflector  fre- 

Sientlv,  in  order  to  vary  tne  direction  and  intensity  of 
e  light. 

"  The  ^spermatozoa  are  often  exceedingly  transpa-rent 
in  cases  of  disease,  and  a  very  bright  perpendicular  light 
is  by  no  means  tho  best  for  showing  them.  Varying 
the  density  of  tho  fluid  under  examination,  eithei-  by 
adding  water  or  by  permitting  evaporation,  is  also  often 


23' 


useful.  The  semen  contains  matters  furnished  by  the 
seminal  vesicles — the  prostate  and  the  urethra — and 
when  the  fluid  is  too  thick  these  matters  hide  the  ani- 
malcules. A  drop  of  water  applied  to  the  edge  of  the 
covering-glass  penetrates  underneath  it  and  the  sperma- 
tozoa are  more  isolated,  at  the  same  time  that  their  con- 
tour is  rendered  more  defined  by  the  diminution  in  den- 
sity of  the  fluid.  On  the  other  hand,  the  refractive 
power  of  the  spermatozoa,  differs  little  from  that  of  the 
fluid  in  which  they  are  contain-ed,  and  their  thinnest 
portions  are  traversed  by  the  light  without  affording 
any  distinct  images  to  the  eye.  In  this  case  there  are 
Dnly  seen  very  small  ovoid  brilliant  globules,  terminated 
ay  a  little  point.  As  soon  as  the  water  begins  to  pene- 
trate between  the  glasses,  the  rapid  motion  set  up,  pre- 
vents the  objects  from  being  clearly  distinguished  ;  but  as 
eoon  as  rest  has  been  re-established  the  tails  of  the  ani- 
malcules appear,  and  their  dimensions  seem  to  have  in- 
creased in  consequence  of  the  diminished  density  of  the 
surrounding  fluid  ;  water  sufiices  to  produce  this  result. 
It  is  more  sensible,  however,  when  asmall  quantity  of  al- 
cohol is  added ;  but  the  forms  of  the  animalcules  are, 
after  a  time,  altered  hy  this  agent ;  and  it  is,  therefore, 
advisable  to  use  water  only  when  it  is  intended  to  keep 
the  preparation. 

"  Evaporation  sometimes  produces  not  less  remarkable 
changes  in  the  seminal  fluid.  I  have  frequently,  in  cases 
of  spermatorrhoea,  failed  to  perceive  anything  in  the 
fluid  under  examination  for  half  an  hour,  an  hour,  or 
more ;  then  suddenly  an  animalcule  has  made  its  ap- 
pearance ;  then  a  dozen,  and  then  perhaps  a  hundred,  in 
the  space  of  a  few  minutes.  The  following  morning, 
when  desiccation  has  become  complete,  there  are  no 
longer  any  traces  of  these  animalcules,  or,  at  all  events, 
I  have  been  only  able  to  distinguish  their  tails,  the  other 
parts  of  them  being  fixed  in  the  dried-up  mucus.  The 
absorption  of  a  drop  of  water  has  restored  the  pheno- 
mena observed  the  night  before.  These  phenomena  are 
easily  explained  ;  when  the  refractive  power  of  the 
.spermatozoa  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  circumambient 
liquid,  the  light  traverses  the  whole  in  the  same  mauncij 
and  the  mass  appears  homogeneous.  But  evaporation 
acts  more  rapidly  on  the  liquid  than  on  the  organized 


238 


bodies  contained  in  it ;  and  when  the  difference  of 
density  alters  the  refractive  power,  the  forms  of  the 
spermatozoa  arc  momentarily  defined  because  they  havo 
become  more  transparent  than  the  remainder  of  the 
fluid.  When  desiccation  is  complete,  however,  the 
animalcules  again  disappear,  because  the  refractive 
powers  of  mucus  and  dried  animalcules  are  again 
equal.  The  absorption  of  a  small  quantity  of  water  re- 
produces the  same  phenomena,  which  may  be  repeated 
almost  indefiniteljs  since  the  matter  confined  between 
the  two  layers  of  glass  undergoes  no  other  appreciable 
alteration. 

"In  order  to  be  enabled  to  discover  spermatozoa 
quickly,  in  cases  of  disease,  it  is  necessary  that  they 
should  be  well  studied  in  healthy  cases.  This  may  bo 
accomplished  in  the  following  manner: — After  coitus 
there  always  remains  a  sufficient  quantity  of  seminal 
fluid  in  the  urethra  to  servo  for  precise  and  complete 
microscopical  examination.  This  may  be  obtained  by 
pressing  the  canal  shortly  after  the  act,  and  receiving 
the  drop  of  fluid  from  the  orifice  of  the  glans  on  a  plate 
of  glass.  In  this  drop  of  fluid  thousands  of  animalcules 
may  be  seen  agitating  themselves  like  so  many  tadpoles 
in  a  pool  of  stagnant  water,  only  that  the  tails  of  the 
spermatozoa  are  relatively  longer  and  thinner,  and  that 
the  head  presents  a  brilliant  point  near  its  insertion. 
Generally  the  number  of  these  animalcules  prevents 
them  from  being  easily  examined ;  and  it  becomes  ne- 
cessary to  spread  them  out  by  introducing  a  small 
quantity  of  water,  and  pressing  firmly  down  the  thin 
glass  that  covers  them  ;  they  are  found  most  separated 
on  the  edges  of  the  fluid.  lif  the  water  added  bo  of  th< 
temperature  of  the  body,  their  motions  become  free  and 
lively,  and  continue  so  vmtil  cooling,  and  evaporation 
effect  them.  By  avoiding  these  two  causes  of  disturb- 
ance the  motions  of  the  spermatozoa  may  be  kept  up 
during  several  hours. 

"  However  long  a  time  may  havo  elapsed  after  coitus, 
there  arc  always  spermatozoa  in  the  urethra,  provided 
they  have  not  been  washed  away  by  the  passage  of 
urine.  Although  the  point  of  the  glans  may  be  quite 
dry,  and  pressure  along  the  whole  length  of  the  canuJ. 
may  not  produce  the  least  painfulness,  still,  on  pafisinjr 


239 


urine,  living  animalcules  may  be  obtained  from  the  fii-st 
drop  which  escapes.  This  luay  be  received  on  the  glass. 
and  is  perhaps  the  easiest  and  most  natural  mode  of  ob- 
taiaiug  spermatozoa  for  microscopic  examination.  It  is 
evident  that  the  same  experiments  may  be  applied  in 
the  case  of  nocturnal  pollutions  as  well  as  in  all  other 
seminal  discharges,  in  whatever  manner  they  may 
occur.  But  many  errors  may  arise  from  commencing 
with  cases  of  disease,  for  it  is  during  perfect  health  that 
the  spermatozoa  are  most  active  and  their  development 
most  complete,  and  they  live  longer  after  coitus  than 
after  any  other  kind  of  seminal  discharge. 

"  Having  thus  described  the  means  by  which  my  mi- 
croscopic observations  may  be  verified,  I  proceed  to 
show  their  results. 

"  Spermatozoa. — Out  of  thirty-three  bodies  which  I 
have  examieed  for  spermatozoa,  I  only  twice  found 
these  animalcules  in  the  testicles.  In  one  of  these  cases 
the  patient  died  from  the  effects  of  a  fall  on  the  day  fol- 
lowing it ;  in  the  other  acute  gastro-enteritis  was  the 
cause  of  death.  The  seminal  fluid  was  most  abundant, 
and  contained  the  greatest  number  of  animalcules  in  the 
former  case.  The  other  patients  died  of  chronic  diseases 
after  protracted  sufierings.  One  only  among  them  died 
on  the  second  day  of  acute  peretonitis,  but  he  was  sev- 
enty-three years  of  age.  In  thirty-one  of  these  patients 
the  testicles  were  soft,  pale,  and  as  though  withered. 
On  dissection  they  presented  a  grayish  aspect,  and  did  not 
furnish  any  liquid ;  the  structure  was  almost  dry,  and 
contained  a  few  blood-vessels  ;  the  secreting  canals  were 
easily  separated  from  one  another,  and  could  be  spread 
out  under  the  microscope  without  breaking.  They  pre 
seuted  very  brilliant  granules,  all  of  exactly  the  same 
appearance,  about  the  size  of  the  head  of  a  spermatozoa, 
ten  times  smaller  than  the  corpuscles  of  blood  or  mucus 
and  differing  from  the  latter  by  the  constancy  and  reg- 
ularity of  their  form.  These  brilliant  bodies  which  oc 
cupied  the  place  of  the  spermatozoa,  arre  worthy  of  no- 
tice, because  they  offer  considerable  analogy  to  the  ap- 
pearances presented  by  the  semen  under  certain  circum- 
Btances.  /- 

"In  order  to  observe  what  is  present  in  the  secreting 
canals  of  the  testicles,  it  is  necessary  to  spread  out  a 


24.0 

portion  of  one  of  them  under  the  microscope,  after  hav 
ing  examined  it  dry,  to  allow  a  drop  of  water  to  penetrate 
between  the  two  glasses,  and  to  follow  the  changes 
which  ta4ie  place,  then  to  press  down  the  glass  so  as  to 
flatten  the  parieties  of  the  canal,  rupture  it,  and  press 
out  a  portion  of  its  contents;  lastly,  these  must  be  ex- 
amined again  when  desiccation  is  complete,  for  the  sper- 
matozoa found  in  the  canals  are  then  best  seen. 

"In  the  epididymis  I  have  never  found  spermatozoa, 
except  in  the  two  eases  in  which  they  were  also  found  in 
the  testicles.  In  all  the  others  I  met  with  these  animal- 
cules only  in  the  vas  deferens,  or  seminal  vesicles.  There 
were  no  animalcules  at  all  to  be  found  in  the  patient  that 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-three.  It  has  always  seemed 
to  me  that  the  animalcules  were  less  numerous  in  pro- 
jiortion  as  the  patients  had  suffered  long  ;  and  in  ex- 
treme cases  I  have  generally  found  them  only  in  the 
seminal  vesicles.  The  fewer  the  spermatozoa,  the  more 
difficult  were  they  of  detection  on  account  of  their  ex- 
treme transparency.  In  some  cases  I  have  only  suddenly 
discovered  them  after  examining  for  an  hour  or  two,  the 
liquid  having  previously  appeared  quite  homogeneous. 
The  dimensions  were  the  same  as  those  of  the  best  de- 
veloped animalcules,  but  they  Avere  pale  throughout 
their  whole  extent,  and  more  transparent  than  the  sur- 
rounding fluid.  Complete  desiccation  caused  them  often 
to  disappear  altogether  ;  but  the  same  phenomena  could 
be  reproduced  by  the  absorption  of  a  small  quantity  of 
water. 

"In  cases  of  phthisis,  caries  of  the  vertebrae,  white 
swelling,  &c.,  I  have  had  great  difficulty  in  distinguish- 
ing the  animalcules,  probably  because  those  diseases  do 
not  cause  death  for  a  long  time. 

"  I  have  almost  always  found  in  the  seminal  vesicles, 
especiall}'  at  the  bottom  of  any  depression,  a  thick, 
grumous,  brilliant  matter,  varying  in  its  aspect  and 
color,  but  considerably  resembling  thick  paste,  and 
more  or  less  transparent ;  with  a  high  power  the  gran- 
ules of  this  matter  appear  large,  irregular,  more  or 
less  opaque,  and  without  any  constant  shape.  Thoy 
are  evidently  the  products  of  the  internal  membrane  of 
the  vesicles,  for  they  arc  found  with  similar  characters 
in  the  accessory  vesicles  of  the  hedge-hog,  rat,  &c., 


241 


which  never  contain  seminal  animalcules,  and  do  nol 
communicate  directly  with  the  vasa  deferentia,  -vyhich. 
again,  never  contain  any  similar  substance.  This  matter 
ic!,  therefore,  analogous  to  that  secreted  by  the  pros- 
tatic follicles,  cowper's  glands.  &c.  Its  functions  are  the 
same,  and  for  many  reasons  it  merits  special  attention. 

*'  The  secretion  of  semen  diminishes  in  all  serious 
diseases,  and  seminal  evacuations  become  very  rare, 
especially  towards  the  last.  It  is  not,  therefore,  as- 
tonishing that  the  products  of  the  mucus  membrane 
predominate  in  such  patients  over  those  of  the  testicles, 
and  that  such  mucus  should  become  more  consistent 
during  its  long  residence  in  the  depressions  of  the  vesi- 
cles. Hence,  the  difference  observable  between  the 
semen  obtained  from  the  vesicles  after  death,  and  that 
which  is  passed  by  a  healthy  person.  Nevertheless, 
after  long-continued  continence,  more  or  less  largo 
granules  are  often  seen  in  the  seiften  of  a  healthy  per- 
son, and  these  arc  perfectly  distinct  from  the  fluid  part. 
When  the  emissions  are  most  frequent,  granules  of  the 
same  kind  may  be  observed,  but  much  smaller.  These 
facts  are  important  when  applied  to  explain  several 
symptoms  of  diurnal  pollutions. 

"I  have  already  stated,  that,  on  causing  the  patients 
to  make  water  in  a  bath,  the  semen  passed  may  be  easily 
recognized  by  means  of  its  globules,  which  whirl  about 
in  the  middle  of  the  cloud  formed  towards  the  close 
of  micturation.  From  what  we  have  just  seen,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  these  globules  come  from  the  internal  mem- 
brane of  the  seminal  vesicles.  They  may  be  wanting 
in  very' severe  cases  when  the  semen  has  no  time  to 
acquire  consistence  ;  but  their  presence  leaves  no  doubt 
as  to  the  existence  of  diurnal  pollutions,  because  they 
can  only  be  furnished  by  the  Seminal  vesicles.  On  the 
other  hand,  I  have  invariably  found  spermatozoa  in  the 
urine  of  patients  who  observed  this  phenomenon  in  the 
bath.  The  same  remarks  hold  good  when  applied  to 
the  globules  which  the  urine  deposits  in  certain  case.^. 
of  diurnal  pollutions,  and  which  have  been  compared  by 
some  to  grains  of  bran,  by  others  to  millet  seed,  pearl 
hai'ley,  &c.,  according  to  their  size.  These  globules  are 
perceived  as  soon  as  the  urine  is  passed  ;  they  are  round- 
ish, very  soft,   and  do  not  give   any  sensatior  when 


242 


squeezed  between  the  finger  and  thumb ;  they  cannot, 
therefore,  be  confounded  with  urinary  salts,  which  are 
deposited  only  when  the  uriiio  has  cooled,  have  a  crys- 
tellian  form,  and  give  the  sensation  of  a  hard  body  to 
the  finger.  The  vesicle  mucus  also  is  only  deposited  on 
cooling,  and  does  not  furnish  brilliant  granules. 

"  As  to  pus,  its  appearenco  is  easily  determined.  1 
have  found  animalcules  wherever  these  globules  appeared 
in  the  urine  ;  and  hence  it  is  that  I  have  pointed  them 
out  as  certain  signs  of  diurnal  pollutions. 

"  I  have  also  noticed  that  in  some  cases  the  urine, 
when  held  against  the  light  presents  in  the  middle  of  a 
flocculent  cloud  multitudes  of  quite  characteristic  bril- 
liant points.  These  are  smaller,  and  consequently 
lighter  globules  than  those  vrhich  in  other  patients  fall 
to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.  They  are  neither  observed 
in  the  mucus  of  the  bladder  nor  in  the  prostatic  fluid, 
which  alone  present-  clouds  analagous  to  those  of  diurnal 
pollutions.  Such  brilliant  points  also  arise  from  the 
seminal  vesicles,  and  their  presence  is,  therefore,  an  in- 
dication that  tl>e  urine  contains  semen.  This  I  have 
often  verified  with  the  microscope.  I  should,  however, 
warn  those  who  wish  to  repeat  my  experiments,  that  it 
is  not  in  the  midst  of  the  flocculent  cloud  that  the  zoos- 
perraes  arc  to  bo  sought,  but  at  the  bottom  of  the  vcs.sel 
to  which  they  soon  fall,  on  account  of  their  greater 
specific  gravity. 

"  The  results  of  all  my  obsei-vations  on  the  dead  sub- 
jects, therefore,  convince  me  of  the  influence  of  serious 
and  long-continued  diseases  on  the  functions  of  the 
spermatic  organs.  But  it  is  not  only  in  the  morbid 
state  that  these  experience  great  variations  ;  remark- 
able diflerences  may  exist  between  healthy  individuals, 
not  only  in  the  quantity  of  semen  secreted  in  a  given 
time,  but  also  in  the  number,  appearance  and  dimen- 
sions of  the  spermatozoa.  In  this  respect,  I  have  ob- 
served dilferences  amounting  to  a  third,  and  in  soni 
cases  to  a  half.  The  comparison  is  very  easily  esta- 
blished. When  the  semen  is  kept  under  a  thin  glass,  as 
1  have  described,  it  is  not  in  danger  of  undergoing  any 
changes,  and  may  be  always,  by  the  addition  of  a  drop 
of  water,  compared  with  a  reccHt  specimen. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  facility  with  which  nocturnal 


2i3 

pollutions  may  be  recognized,  1  Lav*  submitted  the 
Bemen  collected  after  them,  by  individuals  in  various 
conditions  of  health,  to  microscopic  examination.  At 
first,  when  the  evacuations  are  still  rare  and  the  semen 
preserves  its  ordinary  characteristics,  the  animalcules 
do  not  present  any  remarkable  circumstances  in  regard 
to  their  number,  dimensions,  &c.  ;  but  Avhen  the  disease 
has  reached  a  suflacient  degree  of  gravity  to  affect  the 
rest  of  the  sj'stem,  the  semen  becomes  more  liquid,  and 
the  spermatic  animalcules  less  developed  and  less  lively. 
This  number,  however,  does  not  as  yet  sensibly  diminish  ; 
indeed,  in  some  eases,  it  seems  increased.  As  the  dis- 
order advances,  the  erections  diminish,  the  semen  be- 
comes more  watery,  and  the  animalcules  are  often  a 
fourth  or  a  third  less  than  natural,  and  the  tail  is  often 
distinguished  with  difficulty,  under  a  power  of  three 
hundred  diameters.  At  a  still  later  period  the  animal- 
cules become  fewer,  and  in  two  individuals,  in  the  last 
stages  of  the  affection,  the  semen  no  longer  contained 
animalcules,  although  it  retained  its  characteristic  smell. 
Examined  with  high  powers,  and  very  proper  precau- 
tion, I  only  found,  in  this  semen,  brilliant  globules,  all 
exactly  alilie,  and  about  the  same  size  as  the  head  of  a 
spermatozoa. 

"  The  mioroscopic  examination  which  I  have  made 
of  semen  passed  during  efforts  at  stool  give  analogous 
results,  when  such  discharges  only  take  place  acci- 
dentally and  at  long  intervals,  the  seincn  is  thick,  whit- 
ish, impregnated  with  a  powerful  smell,  and  abundantly 
furnished  with  well  developed  animalcules.  I  have  some- 
times even  found  a  few  alive  after  an  hour  or  two.  But 
when  these  discharges  become  so  frequent  or  habitual  as 
to  constitute  disease,  they  become  less  abundant  and 
the  semen  loses  its  normal  properties.  The  spermato- 
zoa are  generally  smaller  than  in  the  healthy  condi- 
tion, and  always  less  lively.  I  have  some  preparations  in 
which  they  are  only  one-half  the  ordinary  size,  and  I  have 
never  been  able  to  find  a  single  living  animalcule  a  few 
minutes  after  the  fluid  had  been  expelled.  When  the 
disease  has  become  much  aggravated  the  spermatozoa 
become  rare,  and  they  are  sometimes  replaced  by  ovoid 
or  spherical  globules  simi.ar  to  those  of  which  I  have 
%lready  spoken      In  these  patients  in  an  extreme  state 


2i\ 


of  disease,  I  found  nothint;  else,  although  they  passed 
as  much  as  a  desert  spo(  u  ul  of  semen  at  each  stool. 
Such  cas&s,  however,  are  etLvX'dingly  rare. 

"  In  diurnal  pollutions  happening  during  the  passage 
of  urine  the  following  means  may  be  employed  to  siiow 
the  presence  of  spermatazoa  : — The  urine  should  first 
be  filtered  in  a  conical  filter,  vrhcn,  on  account  of  their 
weight,  the  greater  number  of  the  spermatozoa  will 
remain  on  the  lowest  part  of  the  paper.  By  taking 
this  portion  and  turning  it  upside  down  in  a  watch-gla^e 
containing  a  few  drops  of  water,  the  animalcules  beconje 
detached  from  the  paper  by  degrees,  and  fall  to  tae 
bottom  of  the  fluid  in  the  glass.  After  twenty-fi.ur 
hours  maceration  in  this  position,  the  paper  may  be 
taken  away,  and  the  spermatozoa  may  be  readily  ob- 
tained b}'  using  a  drop  from  the  bottom  of  the  fliii'l  in 
the  watch-glass  for  examination.  This  mode  of  pro- 
ceeding is  a  sure  one,  but  it  requires  considerable  time 
and  trouble  for  its  performance. 

"  I  have  already  stated  that  the  urine  does  not  always 
contain  spermatozoa  in  cases  of  diurnal  pollutions ; 
therefore,  the  urine  of  the  same  individual  would  pcr- 
hap.s,  require  examination  on  many  occasions,  before  the 
certainty  of  their  presence  could  be  established,  and  few 
medical  men  in  active  practice  have  time  to  devote  to 
such  experiments.  I,  for  one,  should  have  long  since 
given  up  treating  these  patients,  had  I  been  obliged  to 
repeat  in  every  case  such  long  and  tiresome  examina- 
tions. Ten  days  or  a  fortnight  are  sometimes  passed 
without  the  appearance  of  spermatozoa  in  the  urine,  and 
hence  all  who  are  accustomed  to  microscopic  researches, 
will  admit  the  indefinite  amount  of  trouble  and  time  re- 
quired. Fortunately,  however,  there  is  a  more  simple 
method  by  which  such  examinations  may  be  conducted. 

"  It  will  be  recollected  that  the  semen  always  escapes 
with  the  la.st  drops  of  urine,  or  immediately,  or  soon  af- 
terwards. By  directing  the  patients,  therefore,  to  com- 
press the  urethra  immediately  after  micturating,  and  to 
receive  the  drop  of  fluid  pre.ssed  out  on  a  piece  of  glass, 
sufficient  animalcules  will  be  obtained  from  the  walls  of 
the  urethra  for  microscopio  observation.  These  being 
covered  with  a  thin  camella  of  glass  may  be  either  at 
once  placed  under  the  microscope,  or  may  be  allowed  tn 


245 

dry,  and  be  exumincd  at  a  future  time — a  drop  of  watei 
beiug  previously  added.  This  mode  of  examination  is, 
therefore,  easy  for  all  practitioners  who  possess  a  good 
microscope,  after  they  have  accustomed  themselves  to 
the  iflspuetion  of  the  spermatozoa  in  their  natural  state. 
"  The  changes  -which  I  have  mentioned  as  occurring 
in  the  semen  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  and  the 
animalcules  must  not  be  expected  to  appear  either  so 
large,  so  well  defined,  or  so  numerous,  as  in  cases  where 
there  is  no  disease." 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE    QUANTITY  OF   SEMEM   LOST  ;   HOW  IT   AFFECTS  TUB 
SYSTEM,    AAD    ITS   INFLUENCE   ON  THE   MIND. 

"A  too  great  loss  of  semen  weakens  all  the  solid 
parts  ;  hence  arise  weakness,  idleness,  phthisis,  tabes 
dorsalis,  stupidity,  affections  of  the  senses,  faintings  and 
convulsions."  Hoffman  had  already  remarked  that 
"  those  young  people  who  practice  the  infamous  habit 
of  masturbation,  lose  gradually  all  the  faculties  of  the 
mind,  particularly  the  memory,  and  become  entirely 
unfit  for  study."  Lewis  describes  all  these  symptoms. 
We  shall  translate  from  his  work  only  what  relates  to 
the  mind: — "All  the  symptoms  which  arise  from  ex- 
cesses with  females,  follow  still  more  promptly,  and  in 
youth  the  abominable  practice  of  masturbation  ;  and  it 
is  difficult  to  jjaint  them  in  as  frightful  colors  as  they 
deserve.  Young  persons  addict  themselves  to  this  habit 
without  knowing  the  enormity  of  the  crime,  and  all  the 
consequences  w^hich  physically  result  from  it.  The 
mind  is  affected  by  all  the  diseases  of  the  body,  but 
particularlj'-  by  those  arising  from  this  cause.  The 
most  dismal,  melancholy,  indifference  and  aversion  to 
all  pleasures,  the  impossibility  to  take  part  in  conversa- 
tion, the  sense  of  their  own  misery,  the  consciousness  of 
having  brought  it  upon  themselves,  the  necessity  of  re- 
nouncmg  the  happiness  of  marriage,  all  affect  them  n2 


246 


much  that  they  renounce  the  world — blessed  if  they  es- 
cape suicide." 

The  symptoms  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  are  almost 
a  perfect  type  seen  in  the  cases  of  masturbation  ;  but 
thL're  are  others  more  dei^lorable,  which  have  but  re- 
cently been  discovered  as  arising  directly  from  it ;  I 
mean  insanity,  idiocy,  and  a  total  prostration  of  all 
physical  and  mental  power,  and  which  affects  not  only 
the  person  so  addicted,  but  the  innocent  offspring,  and 
whicn  invariably  leads  to  the  extinction  of  the  family 
name. 

It  is  but  quite  recent  that  these  terrible  evils  have 
been  found  to  be  under  our  control.  It  has  heretofore 
been  considered  a  mysterious  dispensation  of  Divine 
Providence,  to  be  met  and  endured  with  patience  and 
resignation.  Very  few  eminent  writers  have  already, 
though  but  recentlj',  acknowledged  the  influence  of  self- 
abuse  in  producing  idiocy,  insanity  and  constitutional 
degeneracy,  and  urge  the  necessity  of  searching  for  the 
cause,  in  treating  these  evils.  So  convincing  has  this 
become,  that  it  has  even  been  recognized  recently  in  a 
legislative  document,  which  tells  more  wholesome  truth 
— accompanied  with  more  sound  reasoning,  1  was  about 
to  say — than  all  the  medical  treatises  heretofore  pub- 
lished on  the  subject  put  together.  I  particularly  refer 
to  the  Report  on  the  subject  of  Idiocy,  presented  to  the 
Ma.'ssachusetts  Legislature  by  Dr.  Howe,  in  February, 
1848,  complying  with  a  resolution  of  that  intelligent 
bod3',  directing  a  report  on  that  subject.  I  hope  the 
introduction  of  that  valuable  document  will  be  the 
means  of  eliciting  the  like  truths,  by  all  the  other  Legis- 
latures, without  any  farther  delay,  for  the  influence  of 
such  documents,  from  such  sources,  would  accomplish 
more  good,  by  preventing  the  unsuspecting  from  falling 
into  so  deplorable  a  vice,  than  all  the  asylums  and 
medical  treatment  could  ever  think  of  doing  by  way  of 
cure.  I  feel  convinced  that  the  time  will  speedily  arrive 
.when  this  and  similar  reports  will  be  eagerly  sought  for, 
and  their  inestimable  value  universally  admitted.     My 

? notations  from  the  rcjiort  will  not  only  corroborate  all 
have  said   in    these   pages,  but  serve  the    additional 
purpose  of  more  fully  enlightening  the  public. 

Dr.  H's  able,  forcible,  sensible   and  convincing  re 


247 

marks,  on  boldly  approaching  this  subject,  should  for- 
ever silence  and  put  to  shame  all  aSected  modesty  in 
speaking  upon  this  subject  hereafter,  for  too  many  per- 
sons, aware  of  its  existence  heretofore,  have  foolishly 
been  prejudiced  by  false  modesty  from  doing  so  : — 

"  There  is  another  vice,  a  monster  so  hideous  in  mien, 
so  disgusting  in  feature,  altogether  so  beastly  and 
loathsome,  that,  in  very  shame  and  cowardice,  it  hides 
its  head  by  day,  and,  vampyre  like,  sucks  the  very  life- 
blood  from  its  victims  by  night ;  and  it  may,  perhai)s, 
commit  more  direct  ravages  upon  the  strength  and 
reason  of  those  victims  than  even  intemperance ;  anc" 
that  vice  is 

Self- Abuse. 

"  One  would  fain  be  spared  the  sickening  task  of 
dealing  with  this  disgusting  subject ;  but,  as  he  who 
would  exterminate  the  wild  beasts  that  ravage  his 
fields,  must  not  fear  to  enter  their  dark  and  noisome 
dens,  and  drag  them  out  of  their  lair;  so  he  who  would 
rid  humanity  of  a  pest,  must  not  shrink  from  dragging 
it  from  its  hiding-places,  to  perish  in  the  light  of  day. 
If  men  deified  him  who  delivered  Lerna  from  its  hydra, 
and  canonized  him  who  rid  Ireland  of  its  sei-pents,  what 
should  they  do  for  one  who  would  extirpate  this  monster 
vice  ?  What  is  the  ravage  of  fields,  the  slaughter  of 
flocks,  or  even  the  poison  of  serpents,  compared  with 
that  pollution  of  body  and  soul,  that  utter  extinction  of 
reason,  and  that  degradation  of  beings  made  in  God's 
image,  to  a  condition  which  it  would  be  an  insult  to  the 
animals  to  call  beastly,  and  which  is  so  often  the  conse- 
quence of  excessive  indulgence  in  this  vice  1 

"  It  cannot  be  that  such  loathsome  wrecks  of  hu- 
manity as  men  and  women,  reduced  to  driveling  idiocy 
by  this  cause,  should  bo  permitted  to  float  upon  the  tide 
of  life  without  some  useful  purpose ;  and  the  only  one 
we  can  conceive,  is  that  of  awful  beacons  to  make  others 
avoid — as  they  would  eschew  moral  pollution  and  dcAth 
— the  cause  which  leads  to  such  ruin.  This  may  seem 
to  be  extravagant  language,  but  there  oan  be  no  exag- 
geration— for  there  can  be  no  adequate  <flescription  even 
— of  the  horrible  condition  to  whicu  men  and  women  arc 


248 

reduced  by  this  practice.  There  are  among  those  euu' 
merated  in  this  report,  some  who  not  long  ago  were 
considered  young  gentlemen  and  ladies,  but  who  are 
now  moping  idiots,  idiots  of  the  lowest  kind  ;  lost  to  all 
reason — to  all  moral  sense — to  all  shame  ;  idiots  who 
have  but  one  thought,  one  wish,  one  passion — and  that 
is,  the  further  indulgence  in  the  habit  which  has  loosed 
the  silver  cord  even  in  their  early  youth,  which  has  al- 
ready wasted,  and,  iw  it  were,  dissolved  the  fibrous  part 
of  their  bodies,  and  utterly  extinguished  their  minds. 

*'  In  such  extreme  cases,  there  is  nothing  left  to  ap- 
peal to,  absolutely  less  than  there  is  in  dogs  or  horses — 
for  they  may  be  acted  upon  by  fear  of  punishment ;  but 
these  poor  creatures  are  beyond  all  fear  and  all  hope, 
and  they  cumber  the  earth  awhile — living  ma.sses  of 
corruption.  If  only  such  lost  and  helpless  wretches  ex- 
isted, it  would  be  a  duty  to  cover  them  charit-ably  with 
the  veil  of  concealment,  and  hide  them  from  the  public 
eye,  as  things  too  hideous  to  be  seen ;  but,  alas !  they 
are  only  the  most  unfortunate  members  of  a  large  class. 
They  have  sunk  down  into  the  abyss  towards  which 
thousands  arc  tending. 

"  The  one  which  has  shorn  these  poor  creatures  of 
the  fairest  attributes  of  humanity  is  acting  upon  others, 
in  a  less  degree  indeed,  but  still  most  injuriously — en- 
ervating the  body,  weakening  the  mind,  and  polluting 
the  soul.  A  knowledge  of  the  extent  to  Avhich  this  one 
prevails,  would  astonish  and  shock  many.  It  is  indeed 
a  pestilence  which  walketh  in  darkness,  because,  while 
it  saps  and  weakens  all  the  higher  qualities  of  the  mind, 
it  so  strengthens  low  cunning  and  deceit,  that  the  vic- 
tim goes  on  in  his  habit  unsuspected,  until  he  is  arrest- 
ed by  some  one  whose  practiced  eye  reads  his  sin  in  the 
very  means  which  he  takes  to  conceal  it— or  until  all 
sense  of  shame  is  forever  lost  in  the  night  of  idiocy, 
with  which  his  day  so  early  closes. 

"Many  a  child  who  coniides  everything  else  to  a  lov- 
ing parent,  conceals  this  i>ractice  in  its  innermost  heart. 
The  sous  or  daughters  who  dutifully,  conscientiously, 
and  religiously  confess  themselves  to  father,  mother,  or 
priest,  on  every  other  subject,  never  allude  to  this.  Nay, 
they  strive  to  cheat  and  deceive  by  false  appearances  ; 
?or,  as  against  this  darling  sin — duty,  conscience,  and 


249 

religion,  are  all  nothing.  They  even  think  to  cheat 
God,  or  cheat  themselves  into  the  belief  that  He  who 
is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity,  can  still  regard 
thfcir  sin  with  favor. 

"Many  a  fond  parent  looks  with  wondering  anxiety 
upon  the  puny  frame,  the  feeble  purpose,  the  fitful  hu- 
mors of  a  dear  child,  and,  after  trying  all  other  remedies 
to  restore  him  to  vigor  of  body  and  vigor  of  mind,  goes 
journeying  about  from  place  to  place,  hoping  to  leave 
the  offending  cause  behind,  while  the  victim  hugs  the 
disgusting  serpent  clo-sely  to  his  bosom,  and  conceals  it 
Cij-efully  in  his  vestment. 

"  The  evils  which  this  sinful  habit  works  in  a  direct 
and  positive  manner  are  not  so  appreciable,  perhaps,  as 
that  which  it  effects  in  an  indirect  and  negative  way. 
For  one  victim  which  it  leads  down  to  the  depths  of 
idiocy,  there  are  scores  and  hundreds  whom  it  makes 
shanio-faced,  languid,  irresolute,  and  inefficient,  for  any 
high  purpose  of  life.  In  this  way  the  evil  to  individuals 
aiid  to  the  community  is  very  great. 

"  It  behooves  every  parent,  especially  those  whose 
children  (of  either  sex,)  are  obliged  to  board  and  sleep 
with  other  children,  whether  in  boarding-schools,  board- 
ing-houses, or  elsewhere,  to  have  a  constant  and  watch- 
ful eye  over  them,  with  a  view  to  this  pernicious  and 
insidious  habit.  The  symptoms  of  it  are  easily  learned, 
and  if  once  seen,  should  be  immediately  noticed. 

'•  Nothing  is  more  false  than  the  common  doctrine  of 
delicacy  and  reserve  in  the  treatment  of  this  habit.  All 
hints,  all  indirect  advice,  all  attempts  to  cure  it  by  cre- 
ating diversions,  will  generally  do  nothing  but  increase 
the  cunning  with  which  it  is  concealed.  The  way  is  to 
throw  aside  all  reserve ;  to  charge  the  offence  directly 
home  ;  to  show  up  its  disgusting  nature  and  hideous 
consequences  in  glowing  colors ;  to  apply  the  cautery 
seething  hot,  and  press  it  into  the  very  quick,  unspar- 
ingly and  unceasing!}'. 

"  Much  good  has  been  done,  of  late  years,  by  the  pub- 
lication of  cheap  books  upon  this  subject.  They  should 
be  put  into  the  hands  of  all  youth  suspected  of  the  vice. 
They  should  be  forced  to  attend  to  the  subject.  There 
shoidd  be  no  squeamishness  about  it.  There  need  be  no 
fear  of  weakening  virtue  by  letting  it  look  upon  such 


250 

hideous  deformity  as  this  vice  presents.  Virtue  is  not 
salt  or  sugar,  to  be  softened  by  such  exposure,  but  the 
crystal  or  diamond  that  repels  all  foulness  from  its  sur- 
face. Acquaintance  with  such  a  vice  as  this — .such  ac- 
quaintance, that  is,  as  is  gained  by  having  it  held  up 
before  the  eyes  in  all  its  ugliness,  oan  only  serve  to  make 
it  detested  and  avoided. 

'*  Were  this  the  place  to  show  the  utter  fallacy  of  the 
notion  that  harm  is  done  by  talkiiiig  or  Avriting  to  the 
young  about  this  vice,  it  could  perhaps  be  done  by  argu- 
ment, certainly  by  the  relation  of  pretty  extensive  expo- 
I'ience.  This  experience  has  shown,  that  in  ninety-nine 
cases  in  a  hundred,  the  existence  of  the  vice  was  known 
to  the  young,  but  not  known  in  its  true  deformity'  ;  and 
that  in  the  hundredth,  the  repulsive  character  in  which 
it  was  first  presented,  made  it  certain  that  no  further 
acquaintance  with  it  would  be  sought." 

My  experience  tells  me,  that  the  language  of  Dr. 
Howe  is  not  too  severe,  for  to  speak  directl^-^  to  the 
point  is  what  is  nccei^sary,  and,  as  he  says,  "  not  be 
evasive."  He  never  did  more  real  service  to  humanity 
than  when  he  presented  this  Report,  for  there  cannot  be 
more  momentous  truths.  Ignorance  is  made  terribly 
apparent,  both  as  regards  the  patient  and  society  at 
large,  in  another  part  of  this  truly  valuable  document. 
Every  one  will  be  in  danger,  imtil  knowledge  takes  the 
place  of  such  ignorance  : — 

"  In  some  families  that  are  degraded  by  drunkenness 
and  vice,  there  is  a  degree  of  combined  ignorance  and 
depravity  which  disgraces  humanity.  It  is  not  wonder- 
ful that  feeble-minded  children  are  born  in  such  families  ; 
or,  being  born,  that  many  of  them  become  idiotic.  Out 
0/  this  class,  domestics  are  sometimes  taken  by  those  in 
better  circumstances,  and  thej^  make  their  employers  feel 
the  consequences  of  sufiFering  ignorance  and  vice  to  exist 
in  the  community. 

"  There  are  cases  recorded  in  the  appendix,  Avhere 
servant-women,  who  had  charge  of  little  girls,  deliber- 
ately taught  them  the  habits  of  self-abuse,  in  order  that 
they  might  exhaust  themselves,  and  go  to  sleep  quietly. 
This  has  happened  in  private  houses  as  well  as  in  the 
almshouses  ;  and  such  little  girls  have  become  idiotic. 
The  mind  instinctively  recoils  from  giving  credit  to  such 


251 


atrocious  guilt ;  nevertheless,  it  is  there,  with  all  ita 
hideous  consequences ;  and  no  hiding  of  our  eyes,  no 
wearing  of  rose-colored  spectacles — nothing  but  looking 
at  it  in  its  naked  deformity,  will  ever  enable  men  to 
cure  it. 

"  There  is  no  cordon  sanitaire  for  vice  ;  we  cannot  put 
it  into  quarantine  nor  shut  it  up  in  a  hospital ;  if  we 
allow  its  existence  in  our  neighborhood,  it  poisons  the 
very  air  which  our  children  breathe. 

"  The  above  remarks  forcibly  apply  to  all  our  public 
schools,  for  I  have  become  too  well  acquainted,  1  was 
about  to  say,  with  the  alarming  extent  with  which  it 
prevails,  often  even  in  the  most  open  manner.  The  ex- 
tent of  it  is  amazing,  for  it  exists  both  among  the  teach- 
ers and  the  students,  and  what  can  be  more  absurd  than 
the  partial,  even  shunning  of  the  subject  1  By  so  doing, 
it  leads  not  only  to  the  continuance  in  some,  but  the 
production  of  it  in  the  yet  uninitiated. 

"  In  some,  as  I  have  previously  stated,  persons  com- 
mence the  habit  accidentally,  but  their  numbers  are  very 
limited,  compared  to  those  who  are  taught  it ;  there- 
fore the  immense  importance  of  preventing  contamina- 
tion by  those  already  addicted. 

"  There  is  one  remarkable  and  valuable  fact  to  be 
learned  respecting  this  vice,  from  observation  of  idiots, 
and  that  is,  that  some  of  them,  though  they  have  no 
idea  of  right  and  wrong,  no  sense  of  shame,  and  no 
moral  restraint,  are  nevertheless  entirely  free  from  it. 
They  could  never  have  been  in  the  practice  of  it,  else 
they  woald  never  have  abandoned  it. 

"  From  this  may  be  inferred,  that  it  is  a  pest,  gene- 
rally engendered  by  too  intimate  association  of  persons 
of  the  same  sex,  that  it  is  handed  from  one  to  another 
like  contagion,  and  that  those  who  arc  not  exposed  to 
the  contagion  are  not  likely  to  contract  the  dreadful 
habit  of  it.  Hence  we  see  that  not  only  propriety  and 
decency,  but  motives  of  prudence,  require  us  to  train  up 
all  children  to  habits  of  modesty  and  reserve.  Children 
as  they  approach  adolesence,  should  never  be  permitted 
to  sleep  together.  Indeed,  the  rule  should  be — not  with 
a  view  only  to  preventing  this  vice,  but  in  view  of  many 
other  considerations — that,  after  the  infant  has  left  its 
mother's  arms,  and  become  a  child,  it  should  ever  afte* 


8'eep  in  a  bed  by  itself.  The  okier  children  grow  and  the 
nearer  they  approach  to  yonth,  the  more  important  does 
this  become.  Boys  even  should  bo  taught  to  shrink 
sensitively  from  any  unnecessary  exposure  of  person, 
before  each  other ;  they  should  be  trained  to  habits  of 
delicacy  and  self-respect ;  and  the  capacity  which  na- 
ture has  given  to  all  for  becoming  truly  modest  and  re- 
fined, should  be  cultivated  to  the  utmost.  Habits  of 
self-respect,  delicacy,  and  refinement,  with  regard  to 
the  person,  are  powerful  adjuncts  to  moral  virtues. 
They  need  not  be  confined  to  the  wealthy  and  favor- 
ed classes  ;  they  cost  nothing — On  the  contrary,  they 
are  the  seeds  which  may  be  had  without  price,  but 
which  ripen  into  fruits  of  onjoymeut  that  no  money  can 
buy." 

It  is  true,  that  it  is  almost  impossible,  unfortunately,  to 
entirely  prevent  children  from  learning  *his  vice,  either 
by  emulative  practice  or  more  direct  instruction.  We 
must  necessarily  then  guard  them  against  it,  by  a 
timely  warning.  I  know  of  instances  where  parents 
supposed  the  information  they  had  given  their  child, 
had  produced  the  desired  eflfect,  but  instead  of  that  they 
have  kept  on  with  the  practice,  until  they  sunk  into  an 
antimely  giave,  and  yet  the  parent  was  congratulating 
liimself  upon  the  success  of  his  precautions. 

Copland  has  an  article  on  Insanity,  which  points  out 
the  various  causes  of  this  terrible  affliction,  and  uses  the 
following  language,  in  speaking  of  self-abuse  :— 

"Many,  however,  of  those  causes  which  thus  aflFect 
nervous  energy,  favor  congestion  of  the  brain  and  oc- 
casion disease  of  other  vital  organs,  tending  to  disoicI;>r 
the  functions  of  the  brain  sympathetically.  Of  these, 
the  most  influential  are  masturbation  and  libertinism, 
or  sexual  excesses,  sensuality  in  all  its  forms,  and  inor- 
dinate indulgence  in  the  use  of  intoxicating  substances 
and  stimulants.  The  baneful  influence  of  the  first  of 
these  causes  is  very  much  greater,  in  both  sexes,  than 
is_  usually  supposed,  and  is,  I  believe,  a  growing  evil, 
with  the  dill'usion  of  luxury,  of  precocious  knowledge, 
and  of  the  vices  of  civilization.  It  is  oven  more  preva- 
lent in  the  female  than  in  the  male  sex,  and  in  the 
former  it  usually  occasions  various  disorders  connected 
with  the  sexual  or^ana — as  leucorrhoea,  or  supnressed 


253 


or  profuse  menstiiiation,  both  regular  and  irregular 
hysteria,  catalepsy  ecstacies,  vertigo,  various  states  of 
disordered  sensibifity,  etc.,  before  it  gives  rise  to  mental 
disorder.  In  both  sexes  epilepsy  often  precedes  insanity 
from  this  cause  ;  and  either  it  or  general  paralysis  often 
complicates  the  advanced  progress  of  the  mental  dis- 
order, when  thus  occasioned.  Melancholia,  the  several 
grades  of  dementia,  especially  imbecility  and  morcom- 
ania,  are  the  more  frequent  forms  of  derangement  pro- 
ceeding Iroin  a  vice  which  not  only  ])rostrates  the  phy-i- 
cal  powers,  but  al-:o  impairs  the  intellects,  debases  the 
moral  atlections,  and  altogether  degrades  the  individual 
in  the  scale  of  social  existence,  even  when  manifest  in- 
sanity does  not  arise  from  it." 

As  I  have  asserted  in  a  former  page,  the  diflference 
between  the  efltects  of  masturbation  and  natural  excess, . 
is  very  great,  for  the  former  is  the  operation  of  the  im- 
agination entirely,  while  the  latter  is  accompanied  by 
the  natural  associations;,  producing  a  pleasurable  feel- 
ing ;  to  be  sure,  the  latter  is  only  partial  when  in  excess. 
I  very  often  have  patients,  who  are  unwilling  slaves  to 
th  evice  of  masturbation  to  such  an  extent,  that  their 
hands  must  be  fastened  while  at  sleep,  to  prevent  the 
practice.  The  mental  tortures  of  fear  and  self-condem- 
nation, combined  with  the  bodily  exhaustion,  produce  a 
fearful  havoc.  Natural  excesses  seldom  cause  insanity 
or  idiocy,  except,  perhaps,  in  the  offspring  ;  but  the 
solitary  vice  is  sure  to  do  so  in  both,  if  not  prevented  by 
judicious  and  timely  treatment. 

The  Massachusetts  Report  says,  that,  "  one  hundred 
and  ninety-one  of  the  idiots  examined  were  known  to 
have  practiced  masturbation,  and  in  nineteen  of  them 
the  habit  was  even  countenanced  liy  the  parents  or 
nurses !  One  hundi'ed  and  sixteen  of  this  number  were 
males,  and  seventy-five  females.  In  four  hundred  and 
twenty  who  were  born  idiots,  one  hundred  and  two  were 
addicted  to  masturbation,  and  in  ten  cases  the  idiocy  of 
the  children  was  '  manifestly  attributable  to  self-abuse 
in  the  parents!'  The  ten  cases  known,  justify  the  con- 
clusion, that  in  reality  there  are  many  more,  which 
proves,  beyond  a  shadow  of  doubt,  that  many  cases  of 
idiocy  in  children  is  attributable  to  the  sexual  vice  of 
tlie  parents.    Is  not  this  fact  almost  too  fearful  fur  con- 


254 

templatinn,  and  the  importance  of  it  to  the  comnitiint* 
incalculable?  "' 

Tlieie  are  many  valuable  statistics  in  the  annual  re- 
ports of  the  Massachusetts  Lunatic  Asylum.  In  the 
twelfth  report,  of  the  numljer  of  cases  existing  In  the 
Institute,  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  are  Ret  down  as 
having  ))een  caused  by  masturbation,  which,  from  tlie 
language  used  in  the  repoit,  is  a  decrease  of  the  number 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  cause  great  satisfaction,  and  i.s 
attributed  to  the  information  that  has  been  diffused  on 
the  suliject,  and  the  warnings  tliat  have  reached  the 
young  through  the  various  channels  of  intelligence  that 
have  been  opened  on  this  hitherto  obscure  subject. 

The  thirteenth  report  contains  one-hundred  and  forty- 
five  cases,  as  caused  by  self-abuse,  with  some  remarks, 
which  I  add  below  :— 

"  The  causes  of  insanity  may  be  divided  into  volun- 
tary and  involuntary.  Of  the  former,  the  principal  are 
intemperance  and  the  secret  vice  ;  other  causes  may  be 
of  this  class,  such  as  hazardous  speculation,  many  le- 
ligious  vagaries,  imi)rudent  exposures  and  irregularities. 
None  are  so  prominent  as  the  two  first  named,  and 
none  so  fully  stain  the  character  with  guilt,  which  even 
the  occurrence  of  hopeless  disease  can  hardly  wipe  away. 
Intemperance  disorders  the  senses,  and  induces  apo- 
plexy, epilepsy,  and  palsy.  The  cases  from  this  cause 
are  about  as  favorable  for  recovery  as  the  majority  of 
others,  but  are  most  sure  to  return  if  the  habit  of  in- 
temperance recurs. 

"  The  secret  vice  produces  the  very  worst  form  of 
insanity,  because  it  is  so  difficult  to  avoid  the  continu- 
ance of  the  cause,  and  because  the  energies  of  the  s3-stem 
are  more  prostrated  by  it  than  by  almost  any  other 
cause.  Such  patients  become  degraded  animals,  so 
entirely  abandoned  to  the  habit  that  hopeless  dementia 
and  driveling  iiiooy  generally  follow.  A  few  can  be 
influenced  to  abandon  the  jjractice,  and  a  few  others 
can  be  cured  in  spite  of  it,  but  in  almost  all  cases  the 
disease  will  become  worse,  and  these  dreadful  conse- 
quences will  ensue. 

"  The  secret  vice,  though  doubtless  r.  frequent  can«? 
of  insanity,  and  of  other  severe  and  fatal  diseases,  far 
more  than  is  generally  supposed,  is  most  operative  in 


255 

preventing  recovery  from  insanity,  arising  from  this  and 
other  causes.  It  is  extensively  and  alarmingly  the  re- 
sult of  an  active  propeiLsity  excited  by  the  disease,  and 
unrestrained  hy  reason,  mural  inlliieuces,  or  self-respect 
Many  cases  ot  a  favorable  character  progress  towards 
recovery,  till  this  practice  is  commenced,  then  the  pa- 
tient becomes  listless,  is  inclined  to  lie  down  or  sit  in  a 
bent  position,  walks  moderately,  looks  fee'ble,  and  feels 
weak  and  miserable.  His  mind  loses  its  energies,  its 
sc(»{)e  is  circumscribed,  more  and  more,  till  this  beastly 
indulgence  occupies  all  his  thoughts,  and  the  remnant  of 
all  the  physical  powers  is  concentrated  to  this  single 
effort  of  gross  and  debased  animal  nature.  Thus,  the 
groveling  sensualist  lives,  often  a  long  life,  a  degraded 
sufferer,  without  a  manly  thought  or  a  moral  feeling 
worthy  of  his  nature  or  his  destiny,  and  finidly  leaves 
the  world  without  the  regret  of  his  friends,  a  useless, 
bui-thensome,  loathsome  object  of  abhorrence  and  dis- 
gust." 

Under  the  head  of  "  Relation  of  Cause  to  Recovery," 
in  the  two  reports,  there  are  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
one  males  and  twenty-nine  females,  enumerated,  from 
the  effects  of  masturbation  ;  and  of  this  number,  one 
himdred  and  ninety-seven  males  and  twenty-seven  fe- 
males were  incuraV>le  ;  which  shows  but  the  small  num- 
ber of  two  of  the  females  as  having  been  cured. 

As  one  of  the  proofs  against  the  absurd  doctrine,  that 
by  giving  this  subject  publicity,  will  increase  the  evil, 
by  drawing  the  attention  of  those  to  it,  who  otherwise 
would  not  have  known  there  was  such  a  disease,  I  will 
insert  some  of  the  truths  directly  relating  to  the  occupa- 
tion of  those  addicted  to  this  vice,  in  these  reports. 

Those  educated  as  physicians  of  course  undex-stand 
the  sexual  system,  while  others  never  study  anything  of 
the  kind,  for  want  of  time  or  because  it  is  not  necessary. 
We  will  see  by  this  tiie  proportion  of  the  educated  and 
uneducated,  as  regards  those  made  insane  by  masturba- 
tion. 

In  the  thirteenth  report,  there  were  sixty-two  shoe- 
m;ikers  in  the  asylum,  of  whom  twenty-four  Avere  insane 
from  this  cause  ;  which  shows  that  nearly  one-half  of 
this  class  of  the  population  become  so  from  self-abuse. 

By  referring  to  the  medical  profession,  we  find  phy 


256 


sicians  made  insane  from  other  causes,  b:it  not  a  single 
case  in  either  report  caused  bj'  masturbation.  This 
alone  is  conclusive  evidence,  that  the  greater  tl»e  knowl- 
edge of  the  subject  the  less  will  the  habit  be  practiced, 
so  that  in  the  end  we  may  almost  hope  for  its  entire  ex- 
tinction. 

There  are  other  facts  also,  in  the  same  reports,  which 
conclusively  show,  that  this  kind  of  knowledge  is  needed  ; 
for  instance,  among  students  the  proportion  of  insane 
from  masturbation  is  about  seventy-live  per  cent.,  there 
being  eighteen  from  this  cause,  out  of  twenty-five.  And 
among  merchants,  the  proportion  is  nearly  fifty  per 
cent.  Of  lawyers,  about  thirty-three  per  cent. ;  and 
clergymen  fifty-six  per  cent.  Intemperance  is  the  gieat- 
est  cause,  yet  there  were  many  of  them  that  were  pro- 
duced by  masturbation  in  the  tii-st  instance,  and  to 
drown  their  shame  no  doubt  resorted  to  alcohol.  Many, 
without  doubt,  used  other  stimulants  as  well  as  alcohol, 
as  a  temporary  relief  from  the  great  exhaustion  the 
practice  always  produces. 

Self-abuse,  it  ia  well  known,  causes  iJl  health,  and 
that  was  the  cause  of  some  of  the  cases  ;  but,  notwith- 
standing, all  of  the  other  complaints  combined  do  not, 
I  am  satisfied,  cause  as  much  insanity  as  the  secret  vi(;e 
of  self-abuse. 

The  influence  of  the  occupation,  as  tending  to  this 
solitary  vice  is  shown  in  these  rojiorts.  They  conclu- 
sivelj'  prove,  that  sedentary  employments  tend  to 
cause  it,  while  active,  out-ot-door  occupation  opposes 
it,  for  among  students,  printers,  shoemaliers,  and  mer- 
chants, fifty  i)er  cent,  of  the  insanity  arises  from  mastur- 
bation, but  only  twelve  per  cent,  from  intemperance. 
Among  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  and  others  who  are  ac- 
tively employed,  thirty-five  per  cent,  arises  from  intem- 
perance, and  only  thirteen  from  mastiu-bation.  Among 
seamen,  fifty-four  per  cent,  of  the  uisanity  is  caused  by 
intemperance,  and  only  eleven  per  cent,  from  solitary 
abu*e. 

Parents,  therefore,  after  they  have  given  their  sons 
the  proper  advice,  should  allow^  them  to  choose  their 
own  emjiloyraent,  and  not  confine  a  sanguine  tempera- 
ment, recjuiring  mental  and  muscular  occupation  of  the 
most  varied  kind,  to  an  office  or  counting-house,  nor  a 


PLATE  23 


Fig.  71  represents  the  digestive  tiil.e  froai  the  esophagus  to  the  anus.  1, 
esophagus,  which  is  laid  open  at  2,  to  show  its  termination  in  the  cardiac  ori- 
fice of  the  stomach  ;  3,  interior  of  the  stomach  with  itsrugtc  ;  4,  duodenum, 
commencing  f,t  the  pylorus  ;  5,  gall-bladder  with  the  cystic  dact,  which  last 
passes  downwards  to  open  into  the  duodenum  ;  G,  G,  G,  small  intestine,  ter- 
minating in  the  caecum,  7  ;  8,  appendicula  vermiformis  ;  9, right  ascending 
colon;  10,  transverse  arch  of  the  colon;  11.  loft  descending  colon;  12, 
sigmoid  flexure  ;  13,  rectum  ;  14,  anus. 


259 

more  intellectual  iirofession,  for  the  mcmotonous  inactivi- 
ty, as  we  have  stated  above,  is  the  greatest  cause  of  sex 
ual  cxce.sses,  for  the  vital  energy,  instead  of  being  ex 
ponded  in  active  exertion,  stimulates  the  sexual  organs 
to  an  unnatural  degree,  and  then  causes  the  vice,  both  aa 
a  gratification  and  relief. 

The  every-day  cases  we  meet  with,  present  these  ef 
fccts^most  frequently — weakness  of  the  eyes,  SAvelling 
and  soreness  of  the  lids,  the  dark  or  tell-tale  spots  under 
the  eyes,  which  is  a  sure  symptom  of  an  exhausted  sys- 
tem, buzzing  or  singing  in  the  ears,  partial  deafness, 
weakness  of  the  back  and  limbs,  especially  the  knees, 
headache,  dizziness,  flatulence,  incontinence  of  urine, 
which  is  very  freciuent,  dian-hoea,  but  most  generally  con- 
stipation, and  sometimes  of  the  most  obstinate  form,  pal- 
pitation of  the  heart,  shortness  of  breath,  loss  of  memo- 
ry, and  confusion  of  ideas,  melancholy,  peevishness,  and 
irritability.  Once  and  awhile  we  meet  with  a  case  where 
there  is  a  partial  loss  of  speech,  tendency  to  stammer  or 
stutter;  and  in  almost  every  instance  there  is  a  hesitancy 
and  indecision  in  these  patients.  Sometimes  there  is  a 
difficulty  of  swallowing,  which  is  a  partial  paralysis  pro- 
duced by  the  sj-mpathy  with  the  organs  below,  and  are 
veiy  often  troubled  with  a  gulping  or  belching  of  wind, 
a  whitening  of  the  hair,  and  even  baldness,  are  often 
produced  from  these  causes  ;  pals}^  and  epilepsy  are  very 
often  the  results,  and  so  is  paralysis,  much  oftener  it  is 
the  case  than  is  supposed.  These  are  severe  affections, 
but  the  sympathies  of  the  generative  organs  are  power- 
ful, and  it  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  as  the  exhaustion 
of  the  vital  power  is  great,  when  caused  by  excess- 
ive action.  For  the  better  illustration  of  the  subject, 
however,  I  will  here  insert  a  few  cases  from  the  note- 
book of  M.  Lallemand,  and  others ;  but  the  mode  of 
treatment  I  entirely  dissent  from,  for  it  is  very  seldom, 
indeed,  that  a  case  presents  itself,  reciuiring,  or  which  is 
adapted  to  it,  and  1  have  cured  many  a  patient  by  my 
more  simple  treatment— which  causes  not  the  least 
pain— after  they  had  submitted  to  numerous  cauterisa- 
tions, the  pain  of  which  is  always  severe,  and  some- 
times causes  a  worse  disease  than  the  one  for  which  it 
was  applied. 


260 


CASB  XVIII., 

''  M.  D.  of  Philadelpliia,  of  a  very  robuj^t  con.^iiutwn, 
contracted  the  habit  of  masturbatron  while  at  school, 
when  only  eight  years  old.  The  first  effect  produced  was 
a  frequent  desire  to  pass  urine,  and  at  twelve  years  of 
age  this  irritability  had  become  so  great  that  he  was 
sometimes  unable  to  retain  his  urine  a  quarter  of  a  a 
houi".  Before  entering  a  house  he  always  took  cafe  to 
micturate  several  times  in  rapid  succession  ;  and,  not- 
withstanding this  precaution,  he  soon  experienced  re- 
newed uneasiness.  He  felt  as  though  his  bladder  was 
never  entirely  empty,  and  the  smallest  quantity  of  urine 
induced  spasmodic  contractions.  The  irritability  of  the 
urinary  f)rgans  diminished  by  degrees  after  the  period 
of  puberty,  but  never  ceased  entirely,  notwithstanding 
the  various  means  which  were  employed  ou  different  oc- 
casions. 

"  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  M.  D.  endeavored  to  break  off 
his  injurious  habits  by  sexual  intercourse,  but  he  found 
himself  completely  impotent,  and  shame  induced  him  to 
return  to  masturbation.  He  afterwards  made  further 
attempts  to  correct  himself,  but  he  experienced  nocturnal 
pollutions,  which  often  made  him  lose  courage.  At 
length,  after  many  relapses,  he  succeeded  completely, 
without  observing  any  lurther  nocturnal  emissions.  Still 
his  health,  instead  of  improving,  became  more  and  more 
impaired.  His  erections  were  less  frequent,  less  pro- 
longed, incomplete,  and  at  length  gradually  ceased,  to- 
gether with  all  animal  desire. 

"  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  the  state  of  his  urine,  its 
frequent  discharge,  and  the  wandering  yiains  in  the  peri- 
neum and  testicles,  induced  a  fear  of  calculus  ;  sounding, 
however,  oul}^  showed  a  morbid  sensibility  of  the  m^ethra, 
especially  towards  the  neck  of  the  bladder. 

"  In  the  beginning  of  May,  1837,  M.  D.  came  to  Mont- 
pelier,  in  the  following  condition : — Much  debilitated, 
xmsteady  in  hit  walk,  easily  chilled,  and  taking  cold 
very  quickly,  wandering  pains  all  over  his  body,  .skin 
dry,  memory  impaired,  digestiim  difficult,  extix^mities 
cold,  scrotum  relaxed  and  testicles  soft— ver}'  sensi- 
tive, and  often  causing  a  dull  pain,  a.s  if  they  were 
forcibly  compressed  ;  the  semen  (from  the  account  he 


261 


gave  of  the  last  Hocturnal  emisions  be  had  experienced) 
clear,  aqiieos,  and  inoderoas ;  semeuul  polhitions  with 
the  last  drop  of  uriue,  which  were  clanimy,  and  passed 
with  difficulty,  aad  excited  a  sensation  of  tickling  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  anus,  which  extended  to  the 
orifice  of  the  urethra.  He  often  had  diarrhoea,  but,  at 
other  times  was  very  costive,  and  his  stools  were  parsed 
with  difficulty  and  jiain.  He  did  not,  hovrever,  often 
pass  semen  while  at  stool. 

"  I  discovered,  several  days  following,  the.  presence  of 
semen  in  M.  D.'s  urine,  and  catheterism  showed  an  ex- 
cessive irritability  of  the  urethra,  especially  In  the 
neighborhood  of  the  prostate,  which,  on  examination, 
was  found  slightly  enlarged,  Kearly  a  tablespoonful  of 
blood  foUov/ed  the  withdrawal  of  the  catheter.  The 
circumstances  did  not  leave  the  least  doubt  on  my  mind 
as  to  the  state  of  the  mucous  membranes  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  ejaculatory  ducts  ;  and  consequently,  I  imme- 
diately performed  cauteriaation,  from  the  neck  of  the 
bUidder  as  far  as  the  membraneous  portion  of  the  urethra. 

'  Twenty  days  afterwards,  M.  D.  left  Montpelier  for 
Italy,  and  when  he  returned,  three  months  aftei-wards, 
he  was  completely  cured — no  involuntary  seminal  emis- 
sions having  afterwards  appeared.  His  urine  was  trans- 
parent, and  could  be  retained  seven  or  eight  hours, 
without  inconvenience  ;  its  discharge  took  place  without 
effort,  and  was  not  accompanied  by  any  remarkable 
sensation.  Lastly,  the  patient's  impotence,  which  had 
been  present  nearly  twelve  years,  had  given  place  to  a 
virility  previously  unknown  to  him  ;  I  need  hardly  state 
tl.at  his  physical  and  moral  energy  had  shared  in  this  re- 
generation. 

"  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  notice  the  connection 
that  exists  between  the  spennatic  and  urinary  organs  ; 
and  I  have  shown  that  there  is  scarcely  a  cause  of  sper- 
matorrhoea which  does  not  act  more  or  less  on  the  blad- 
der and  kidneys. 

"  The  cause  I  am  now  investigating  affords  us  numer- 
ous examples  of  this  connection — of  which  the  case  I 
have  just  related,  is  a  remarkable  instance— the  irrita- 
tion of  the  urinary  organs  having  been  developed  very 
rapidly,  having  shown  very  marked  symptoms,  and 
having  existed  alone  dui'ing  several  years.    The  patient 


262 

was  only  eighteen  years  of  age  when  he  first  became  ad- 
dicted to  masturbation ;  at  this  early  age  the  uriuary 
urjrans  al-ne  possessed  activity,  and  therefore  they  alone 
were  able  to  suffer  disturbance  of  their  fimctioas  ;  on 
this  account  the  symiitoms  were  confined  for  a  long  time 
to  the  urinary  organs.  The  character  of  the  symptoms 
showed  that  they  arose  from  a  chronic  state  of  inflamma- 
tion, or  from  au  acute  irritation  of  the  urinary  organs, 
and  this  state  must  have  extended  also  towards  the  sper- 
matic organs.  Thus,  the  increased  sensation  of  the  kid- 
neys, and  the  extreme  irritaljility  of  the  bladder,  would 
give  a  very  clear  idea  of  what  took  place  in  the  spermatic 
organs  at  the  period  of  puljerty.  As  soon  as  the  testicles 
began  to  act,  they  fell  under  the  same  influence  as  the 
kidneys  ;  the  seminal  vesciclcs  were  in  the  same  condi- 
tion as  the  bladder  ;  in  other  Avords,  the  semen  was  se- 
creted in  large  quantities,  and  was  retained  a  very  short 
tune  in  its  reservoirs.  Being,  therefore,  imperfectly 
formed,  the  usual  effect  on  the  erectile  tissues  produced 
by  its  presence,  did  not  take  place,  and  coitus  was  im- 
possible at  the  age  of  sixteen. 

"  The  occurrence  of  impotence  at  so  early  an  age  is 
sufficient  to  show  that  diurnal  pollutions  had  already 
commenced,  although  the  patient  did  not  discover  them 
for  a  long  time  aftenvards.  He  was  still,  however,  able 
to  practice  masturbation ;  and  this  is  a  circumstauce 
which  has  great  effect  in  preventing  persons  addicted  to 
the  vice  from  renouncing  their  fatal  habits.  At  a  later 
period,  nocturnal  pollutions,  which  occurred  after  a  few 
days'  care,  shook  the  patient's  resolution.  This  is  a 
much  less  s-erious  circumstance  than  the  one  just  men- 
tioned, but,  at  the  same  time,  much  more  common.  At 
length  the  patient  left  off  his  habits,  and  his  nocturnal 
pollutions  disappeared  ;  yet  the  disorder  of  his  health 
continued  to  increase.  His  prudence,  exercised  too  late, 
did  not  arise  from  the  strength  of  his  will,  but  from  the 
weakness  of  his  genital  organs.  The  disappearance  of 
hLs  nocturnal  emissions  did  not  arise  from  the  remedial 
measures  used,  but  from  the  increase  of  his  involuntary 
diurnal  discharges,  of  which  he  only  became  aware  long 
aftenvards.  These  common  errors  are  the  more  danger- 
ous, >jeoause  medical  practitioners  are  apt  to  participate 
In  them. 


263 

"  In  the  case  of  M.  D.  the  irritability  of  the  canal  wad 
very  great,  aud  the  effect  of  the  cauterization  was  cor- 
respondingly prompt  and  decided." 

The  above  case  is  a  very  near  type  of  the  one  froui 
my  own  note-book,  and  "which  is  tiic  first  case  that  1 
have  presented.  The  age  at  which  they  commenced 
the  habit  of  Onanism  was  the  same  ;  my  own  patient, 
however,  was  married  soon  after  he  arrived  at  age. 
Both  cases  are  highly  instructive  and  important,  for, 
when  a  parent  finds  their  child  is  laboring  under  such  a 
difficulty  in  the  frequent  passage  of  urine,  they  should, 
without  delay,  inquire  into  the  cause.  By  so  doing,  the 
accruing  difficidties  that  will  arise  from  the  advancing 
disease,  can  be  averted. 

The  next  case  also  is  an  important  one,  as  it  shows 
how  readily  spermatorrheal  symptoms  may  be  thought 
to  indicate  almost  every  other  disease,  and,  of  course, 
the  real  difficulty  is  seldom  discovered,  unless  the  sur- 
geon is  one  of  practical  experience  in  these  complaints.  I 
am  indebted,  (says  M.  LaUemand),  for  the  following  re- 
markable case  to  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Daniel  of  Cette  :— 


"On  the  26th  of  May,  1836,  I  was  called  to  F.,  a 
baker,  aged  twenty-two  ;  1  found  him  in  bed,  in  tho 
following  condition : — Great  moral  prostration,  carried 
even  to  a  hatred  of  existence,  prostration  of  strength  ; 
anaenisQ  ;  lips  pale  and  shriveled,  remarkable  palidity, 
eyes  sunken,  expression  of  countenance  dull,  great  ema- 
ciation, skin  hot  and  dry,  pulse  small,  voice  hoarse  and 
so  low  that  it  was  with  "^difficulty  a  few  words  could  be 
heard  by  approaching  the  ear,  constant  cough,  scarcely 
permitting  an  instant's  repose,  general  wandering  pains, 
most  severe  in  the  loins  and  the  sides  of  the  chest,  great 
irritability  of  the  stomach — vomiting  being  excited  after 
taking  almost  any  kind  of  liquor  or  solid  food. 

"  At  first,  I  thought  that  I  recognized  in  this  patient 
the  symptoms  of  phthisis  laryngea,  complicated  with 
chronic  gastritis ;  but  the  examination  of  his  chest  and 
abdomen  did  not  support  this  opinion.  The  epigastrio 
region  was  not  painful  on  pressure  ;  the  respiratory  mur- 
mur was  heard  all  over  the  chest,  and  percussion  emitted 


264 


a  hoalthy  sound,  except  luider  the  lett  false  ribs,  whore 
it  was  slightly  dull,  aiul  the  patieut  felt  pain. 

"  His  debility  did  not  permit  lue  to  practice  abstrac- 
tion of  blood  ;  and,  indeed,  the  pleuropneumonia  of  the 
\cft  side  did  not  seem  either  very  extensive  or  very 
acute  ;  I  therefore  ordered  a  large  bli^iter  to  be  applied 
over  the  afi'ected  spot,  and  prescribed  a  solution  of  tartar 
emetic  and  a  strict  diet.  The  pain  in  the  side  disap- 
peared, and  two  days  afterwards  the  stomach  could  re- 
tain milk  and  barley-water.  Still  nothing  explained 
the  patient's  emaciation,  his  almost  total  loss  of  voice, 
hoarseness,  and  constant  cough.  His  parents  attributed 
these  symptoms  to  hereditary  phthisis,  and  mentioned 
that  several  members  of  the  family  had  died  of  that  dis- 
ease. Minute  and  repeated  examination  of  F's  chest, 
however,  assured  me  that  this  was  not  the  case. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  the  symptoms  were  very  severe, 
and  I  could  not  discover  any  visceral  lesion  sufhcient  to 
account  for  them.  In  this  state  of  uncertainty,  your 
views  on  spermatorrhoea  attracted  my  attention.  1  im- 
mediately questioned  the  patient  respecting  his  pa^t  life, 
and  learned  that  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  practiced 
masturbation  with  such  fury,  that  he   had   frequently 

Eassed  aqueous  semen,  mixed  with  blood.  Frigntened 
y  these  incidents  he  had  corrected  himself  completely. 
But  after  about  a  fortnight's  abstinence,  he  noticed  that 
his  urine  contained  a  deposit  of  thick,  whitish,  liocculeut 
matter.  He  never  attached  any  importance  to  this,  al- 
though during  four  years  he  observed  it  constantly,  and 
noticed  that  it  was  more  abundant  after  he  had  been 
much  fatigued  in  his  business.  He  observed  also,  that 
the  last  drops  of  urine  were  thick  and  viscid,  and  that  a  . 
small  quantity  of  viscid  matter  generally  remained  at 
the  orifice  of  the  urethra. 

"  His  bad  symptoms  first  commenced  at  this  time  ; 
his  erections  and  desires  entirely  disappeared,  and,  by 
the  time  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  was 
obliged  to  give  up  his  employment,  and  shortly  after- 
wards, his  symptoms  becoming  aggravated,  he  was 
unable  to  quit  his  bed.  I  examined  his  urine,  and  found 
it  in  the  condition  he  had  de-^cribed — the  deposit  con- 
tained in  it  being  about  an  ounce  in  quantity.  I  noticed 
that  his  testicles  were  soft,  and  his  scrotum  flaccid.    Ho 


265 

agreed  to  my  proposition  of  cauterizing  the  prostatic  por 
tion  of  the  urethra,  with  eagerness,  and  I  performed  it 
on  the  following  day.  The  eflect  of  the  cauterization 
was  rapid.  The  second  night  afterwards  the  patient 
slept  soundly  ;  the  third  day  a  change  was  observed  in 
the  voice,  and  erections  occurred  during  the  night. 
On  the  fourth  day  the  patient  was  able  to  get  up  and 
take  some  light  food,  which  was  well  digested  ;  his  wan- 
dering pains  had  disappeared  ;  and  by  the  ninth  day  af- 
ter the  cauterization,  the  patient's  strength  had  returned. 
Tonic  regimen  and  the  use  of  sea-bathing  confirmed  hia 
restoration." 

The  next  case  especially  exhibits  that  singular  ten- 
dency of  these  diseases,  if  they  go  on  unchecked,  and 
which  are  sure  to  end  in  confirmed  insanity.  It  gene- 
rally commences  with  the  hallucination,  that  they  are 
about  to  be  defrauded,  that  everyone  are  aware  of  their 
disease,  consequently  they  are  despised,  and  finally,  that 
they  will  be  assassinated,  for  they  are  certain,  they 
thmk,  that  society  generally  are  leagued  against  them, 
and  that  they  are  the  most  ill-used  persons  living. 


"At  the  beginning  of  April,  1836,  M.  Emile  G.  was 
sent  to  consult  me,  by  Dr.  Cauviere,  of  Marseilles.  He 
was  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  had  attracted  noilce 
from  the  brilliancy  of  his  intellect.  At  twenty-one  years 
of  age  he  had  been  admitted  an  advocate  in  a  highly- 
flattering  manner.  He  stooped  much,  and,  though  his 
bony  sy.stem  seemed  to  announce  a  strong  constitution, 
Lla  limbs  were  small  and  his  muscles  soft.  His  haii 
was  black  and  thin,  his  skin  pale,  and  his  face  without 
expression.  His  eyes  were  dull,  and  constantly  cast 
down ;  his  voice  weak  and  husky,  and  his  general  ap- 
pearance announced  great  timidity.  His  legs  were 
constantly  in  motion. 

"  I  learnt  that  M.  G.  had  contracted  the  habit  of 
masturbation  at  school  at  twelve  years  of  age,  and  that, 
whilst  studying  law  in  Paris  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he 
found  a  change  in  his  character  commencing ;  this  T 
will  describe  in  his  own  words  *— 

"  *  At  first  I  felt  a  gradually-increasing  disgust  of 


266 

everjrthing,  and  a  constant  sense  of  ennni.  From  that 
period  I  only  saw  the  dark  side  of  life.  Thoughts  of 
suicide  soon  afterwards  occurred  to  me,  and  this  state 
of  mind  continued  for  twelve  months,  after  which  other 
ideas  took  the  place  of  those  respecting  suicide.  I  con- 
sidered myself  a  subject  of  ridicule,  and  fancied  that  the 
expression  of  my  countenance  or  my  manner  excited  an 
insulting  gayety  in  the  persons  I  met.  This  notion  each 
day  acquired  new  strength  ;  and  often,  when  in  the 
street,  or  even  when  at  my  own  house,  or  in  a  room  sur- 
rounded by  my  relations  and  friends,  1  fancied  I  heard 
insults  which  were  aimed  at  me.  I  think  so  still.  At 
length,  as  my  state  became  worse,  I  thought  that  every 
one  insulted  me,  and  I  still  think  so.  If  any  one  ex- 
pectorates or  blows  his  nose,  coughs,  laughs,  or  puts  his 
handkerchief  before  his  face  in  my  presence,  1  experience 
the  most  painful  sensation.  Sometimes  I  feel  enraged ; 
but  more  frequently  a  depression  of  spirits,  ending  in 
involuntary  tears.  1  look  at  no  one,  and  my  eyes  are 
never  fixed  on  any  object.  "Wrapped  up  in  my  own 
thoughts,  I  am  inciifterent  to  all  external  impressions. 
These  signs  are  evidently  those  of  imbecility.  I  admit 
that  I  may  have  had — aiid  that  I  may  even  now  have — 
hallucinations,  but  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  these  ideas 
are  not  without  foundation.  I  am  convinced  that  the 
expression  of  my  countenance  has  something  strange  in 
it ;  that  people  read  in  my  looks  the  fears  which  agitate 
and  the  ideas  which  torment  me,  and  that  they  laugh  at 
this  unhappy  weakness  of  intellect  which  they  ought 
rather  to  pity.' 

"The  patient  experienced  a  sense  of  heaviness  and 
oppression  in  his  head,  and,  although  fatigued  by  slight 
exercise,  was  constantly  in  motion.  Two  years  before 
he  consulted  me  he  began  to  correct  himself  by  degrees, 
and  for  nine  months  he  liad  entirely  renounced  the 
practice  of  masturbation  ;  yet,  notwithstanding  this,  his 
state  daily  grew  worse.  His  digestion  was  disordered ; 
he  suffered  from  obstinate  constipation,  and  his  erections 
and  venereal  desires  had  left  him  for  a  long  tin:ie.  Yet 
he  did  not  mention  the  last  ftiets — in  the  written  state- 
ment of  his  case — to  me  ;  they  were  minor  evils  ;  one 
idea  alone  absorbed  him — the  conviction  that  he  was  an 
•bject  of  contempt  and  ridicule  to  all  who  approached 


267 

him ;  this  idea  was  aggravated  by  their  knowledge  of 
his  impotence  and  by  shame  for  the  cause  which  had 
produced  it. 

■  "  This  patient's  urine  usually  contained  an  abundant 
flocculent  deposit,  resembling  a  thick  decoction  of  barley  ; 
it  decomposed  very  rapidly,  and  emitted  a  disagreeable 
smell.  After  every  stool  the  point  of  the  glans'  penis 
was  covered  with  a' clammy,  viscid  matter,  resembling  a 
thick  solution  of  gum. 

"  These  circumstances  confirmed  me  in  the  idea  that 
involuntary  seminal  discharges  alone  opposed  the  pa- 
tient's recovery.  The  frequent  emission  of  the  urine, 
the  sensibility  of  the  spermatic  cords,  of  the  testicles, 
and  especially  of  the  urethral  mucous  membrane  and 
the  injected  state  of  the  orifice  of  the  urethra,  made  me 
attribute  these  evacuations  to  irritation  of  the  spermatic 
organs  rather  than  to  relaxation.  As,  however,  the 
patient  refused  to  submit  to  cauterization,  I  ordered  him 
iced-milk  mixed  with  spa-watej.',  cold  lotions,  &c.,  but 
he  found  himself  much  worse  after  the  use  of  these 
means  ;  all  his  symptoms  were  aggravated,  and  his 
urine  became  thicker,  and  left  a  glaring  deposit  ad- 
hering to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel. 

"  At  length,  on  the  23d  of  April,  I  persuaded  M.  G. 
to  submit  to  cauterization,  and  I  performed  it  immedi- 
ately, chiefly  on  the  neck  of  the  bladder  and  the  prosta- 
tic portion  of  the  urethra  ;  nothing  particular  occurred, 
except  tiiat  the  inflammation  of  the  urethra,  which  fol- 
lowed the  application,  was  not  entirely  removed  for  three 
weeks.  This,  I  believe,  arose,  in  a  great  measure,  from 
the  severe  weather  which  prevailed  at  the  time.  I  or- 
dered two  or  three  warm  baths  to  be  taken  in  a  week, 
a  few  warm  injections  and  demulcent  drinks. 

"  At  the  expiration  of  a  month,  the  patient  took  plea- 
sure in  going  out,  and  occupied  himself  in  gardening  ; 
he  felt  stronger,  and  took  longer  walks  ;  he  was  able  to 
employ  himself  longer  without  fatigue  ;  he  also  experi- 
enced nocturnal  emissions,  preceded  by  erratic  dreams 
and  lively  sensations.  At  this  he  was  at  first  alarmed, 
but  he  gained  courage  when  he  saw  that  he  was  not  in- 
jured by  them. 

"  I  had  not  seen  him  for  more  than  a  month,  when  one 
day  he  called  on   me,  quite  dispirited,  to  say  that  he 


208 

should  never  get  well,  as  he  was  relapsing  into  his  for- 
mer habits.  I  blamed  him,  but  at  the  same  tioie  1  ex- 
plained to  him  that  the  fact  was  a  proof  of  his  having 
regained  his  former  virility,  of  which  he  should  make 
more  proper  use. 

"  M.  G's  mother  came  to  me  soon  after,  to  speak  of 
the  propriety  of  marriage  for  her  son,  whom  she  saw  ex- 
posed to  various  dangers.  I  easily  persuaded  her  that 
before  deciding  on  marriage,  it  would  be  necessary  for 
him  to  be  firmly  assured  during  a  considerable  period  of 
his  perfect  and  decided  recovery.  M.  G.  had  then  re- 
gained his  spirits,  his  boldness  and  his  position  in  society, 
and  eighteen  months  afterwards,  all  his  functions  being 
performed  with  energy,  he  married.  Six  months  after 
his  marriage  I  heard  that  his  health  had  not  for  a  mo- 
ment been  disordered. 

"  With  this  patient  1  received  the  following  consulta- 
tion from  Dr.  Ksquirol  : — 

"  '  The  undersigned  cannot  mistake  a  case  of  hj'po- 
chondriasis  which  has  lasted  three  years.  It  is  evident 
that  the  nervous  affection  was  produced  by  the  habit  of 
masturbation  to  which  the  patient  was  addicted  from 
the  age  of  puberty,  and  of  which  he  only  succeeded 
in  breaking  himself  seven  months  since.  *  The  hypo- 
chondriasis continues  very  obstinately,  as  the  cause 
which  produced  it  acted  for  a  long  time,  and  very  seri- 
ously weakened  the  nervous  system.  The  undersigned 
attributes  the  little  success  attending  medical  treatment 
to  the  unfavorable  weather,  to  the  indocility  of  the  pa- 
tient, who  lives  in  seclusion  and  in  physical  and  moral 
torpor,  and  to  the  weakness  of  his  mother,  who  allows 
herself  to  be  led  away  by  the  sight  of  false  or  exagge- 
rated sufierings.  The  means  advised  are  those  usually 
ordered  in  cases  of  hypochondriasis :— Tonics,  anti- 
spasmodics, leeches  to  the  anus,  purging,  change  of 
scene,  traveling,  sulphuretted  baths,  sea-bathing,  &c.' 

"  Dr.  Esquirol  sums  up  liis  opinion  in  conclusion,  aa 
follows  : — '  I  must  repeat  what  I  have  said  above— weak- 
ened evacuation  is  the  cau.se  of  the  disease,  and  every- 
thing which  can  strengthen  the  nervous  system,  will 
be  useful.  It  was  clear  that  masturbation  had  been  the 
first  cause  of  the  physical  and  moral  derangement,  called 
hypochondriasis  ;   but  the  patient  had  renounced  this 


260 

vice  during  nine  montlis,  and  his  state  became  worsa 
daily,  instead  of  improving.  It  wsts  evident,  therefore, 
that  some  other  cause  acted  in  keeping  up  the  disorder; 
and  it  was  just  as  evident  that  this  cause  was  involun- 
tary diurnal  discharges. 

"  It  is  not  necessary  for  mo  to  show  that  masturbation 
can,  acting  alone,  induce  involuntary  discharges,  or  that 
the  cure  was  due  to  cauterization  only,  although  its  ef- 
fects were  not  manifest  for  a  month  after  the  application 
of  the  caustic  ;  but  I  must  insist  on  the  pathological 
condition  of  the  genital  organs  exciting  these  involun- 
tary evacuations,  since  they  have  been  too  frequently 
ascribed  to  a  state  of  debility  or  relaxation  of  the 
tissues .  The  tonics  ordered  by  Esquirol  had  produced  no 
benefit. 

"  '  I  have  described  the  symptoms  which  led  me  to  sus- 
pect acute  irritation  of  the  prostatic  portion  of  the  ure- 
thra, and  I  have  shown  the  injurious  effects  of  cold 
lotions,  iced-milk,  spa-water,  &c.  It  was  then,  not  by 
causing  contraction  of  the  orifices  of  the  ejaculatory 
duets,  that  the  cauterization  produced  its  beneficial  ef- 
fects, but  by  dispersing  the  chronic  engorgement  of  the 
mucous  membrane.  The  advantage  derived  from  warm 
baths  during  convalescence  corroborates  this  opinion.' 

"  In  M.  G's  case  a  predominating  symptom  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  practitioners  ;  hence  they  looked  on 
the  disease  as  being  hypochondriasis,  monomania,  or 
hallucination,  continuing  after  the  separation  of  its  ex- 
citing cause,  and  becoming  consequently,  an  idiopathic 
affection.  I  have,  however,  shown  that  all  the  functions 
had  been  altered  more  or  less ;  I  should  add,  that  the 
digestion  was  the  last  to  bo  re-established  perfectly. 
Such  mistakes  are  very  common  and  very  serious,  and 
I  cannot  too  strongly  impress  their  importance  on  the 
attention  of  the  profession. 

_"  Esquirol  justly  stated,  the  hypochondriasis  took  its 
origin  from  masturbation  ;  that  the  nervous  system  was 
weak  and  excited.  But  he  mistook  the  cause  which  kept 
up  this  condition  of  the  brain.  When  masturbation  has 
not  iiKlueed  involuntary  seminal  emissions,  recovery  soon 
follows,  on  Itaving  off  the  habit  which  has  destroyed  the 
health.  Within  a  week  the  patients  begin  to  experience 
a  notable  improvemont,  and  in  a  very  short  time  they 


270 

are  hardly  recognizable,  whatever  may  have  been  the 
degree  of  weakness  to  which  they  were  reduced. 

'•  But  when  Dr.  Esquirol  wrote  his  opinion,  seven 
months  had  ehip.sed,  during  which  ]\I.  G's  conduct  had 
been  irreproachable,  and  when  I  saw  him  two  montha 
after,  his  state  was  even  worse,  although  he  had  never 
resumed  his  former  habits.  The  symptoms  were,  how- 
ever, kept  up  by  involuntary  diurnal  discharges. 

"  The  effects  of  cauterization  were  very  conclusive, 
and  so  soon  as  its  curative  action  was  felt,  the  patient 
of  his  own  accord,  took  various  kinds  of  exercise,  and 
sought  out  the  different  amusements  which  had  been 
in  vain  ordered  for  him  previously  ;  he  entered  into  sp- 
ciety,  and  did,  without  being  pressed,  all  that  he  had 
before  refused  to  do  ;  his  ideas,  and  his  necessities  al- 
tered in  proportion  as  his  functions  were  re-established. 
"  It  is  in  vain  that  we  say  to  the  so  called  hypochon- 
dria}— Amuse  yourself,  employ  your  mind,  go  into  .-society, 
seek  agreeable  conversation ;  so  long  as  we  have  not  re- 
moved the  cause  of  his  disorder,  he  is  unable  to  profit 
lay  our  counsels.  How  can  we  expect  that  when  a  man 
is  fatigued  by  the  least  exercise,  he  shall  occupy  him- 
self with  walking  or  gardening  1  Hoav  can  we  desire 
him  to  go  into  society,  when  the  simple  presence  of  a 
woman  intimidates  him,  and  recalls  all  his  former  mis- 
fortunes 1  How  can  we  expect  him  to  enjoy  conversa- 
tion when  he  loses  its  thread  every  moment  1  When 
his  memory  loaves  him,  and  he  feels  his  nullity  1  We 
persuade  him  to  seek  amusements  and  pleasures,  but  are 
they  such  to  him  1  Is  not  the  happiness  of  others,  his 
greatest  punishment  1  Because  he  is  unable  to  follow 
our  advice,  we  accuse  him  of  unwillingness,  and  we  wish 
to  compel  him.  Let  us  first  remove  the  cause  of  our 
patient's  disea.sc,  and  we  shall  soon  see  that  his  character 
and  conduct  will  change,  and  that  he  will  return  to  hia 
natural  tastes  and  habits. 

"  It  is  not  long,  in  such  cases,  before  we  are  em- 
barrassed by  questions  about  the  pi-opriety  of  marriage 
being  put  to  us.  This  is  a  matter  which  is  serious  in 
all  its  aspects,  and  on  which  the  least  scrupulous  should 
not  pronounce,  without  having  had  sufficient  assurance  of 
their  patient's  health  is  now  not  the  only  one,  nor  is 
even  his  future  happiness  alone  implicated  ;  the  fate  of 


27J 


the  innocent  being  who  is  about  to  bo  associated  with 
him  is  the  matter  of  chief  importance,  .and  justice  to 
her  demands  that  we  do  not  counsel  matrimony  until 
Bufflciently  long  proof  has  been  given  that  our  patient's 
re-establishment  is  permanent." 

The  above  case  will  satisfy  every  one  who  are  afflict- 
ed, or  who  have  been  subject  previously  to  the  habit, 
or  to  the  emissions,  and  may  be,  wb>>  have  married, 
without  having  first  been  cured,   b^t  who  think  they 
are  well  enough  ;  vet  they  do  no*"  feel  exactly  as  they 
should;  or  they  may  have  be^^^'^der  treatment,  and 
supposed  themselves  conval^^<^"t ;  but  yet  the  testicle 
on  the  left  side  is  weaker  ;^'  and  hangs  lower  than  the 
other,   or  than  it  shor';'  the  veins,  no  aoubt,  are  en- 
larged, or  when  yo;  ^""^^  ^^"^  testicles  m  your  fingers 
the!-e  is  a  feelinc'-'^'^f  worms  collected  together.     Both 
testicles  mav  "^  ^P^P^^'^fi'  '^^"^  sometimes  they  swell  and 
f-el  tcndo-  f  Pc<'ia%  if  tlie  person  has  been  indulging 
in  sT^iri^  "^I  liquors,  or  has  a  severe  cold ;  the  desire  for 
conr  •,,   °  finally  grows  less  ;  the  person  becomes  weak, 
Will  soon  go  to  an  early  grave,  probably  an  idiot, 
ril   through  these  different  stages   there  is    either  a 
Visible    or    invisible   loss    of   semen,    which    must    be 
stopped,  and  as  I  have  just  said,  should  satisfy  every 
one  there  is  no  time  to  be  lost,  or  thev  may  be  past  re- 
covery, for,  so  long  as  the  spermatorrhoea  continues,  no 
cure  can  be  expected,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  patient 
must  go  on  from  bad  to  worse,  notwithstanding  all  that 
can  be  done  for  him.     In  addition  to  what  I  have  said 
as  to   the   origin   of  this  vice,  I  will  insert  what    M 
Lallemand  says  on  the  same  subject : — 


CHAPTER  XL 


CAUSES   OF   ABUSE 


"  These  may  be  divided  into  two  classes : — First, 
causes  inherent  in  man,  or  those  acting  from  within  j 
these  may  be  considered    as    predisposing   causes  ;• 


272 

secondly,  cxterna-1  causes,  or  those  arising  from  a'^ci- 
deutal  circumstances,  and  these  may  be  considered  aa 
exciting  causes. 

"  Inlcrnal  or  predisposing  causes.— Of  the  first  class 
5t  causes,  the  mejt  important  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the 
buman  organization.  \n  the  lower  animals  tlie  male 
and  female  live  t^ogcthcr,  as  if  there  were  no  differeaee 
ot  sex,  except  d^^^g  the  short  rutting  season.  This 
period  passed,  pcrfc..,  calm  is  restored.  In  the  human 
species,  the  secretion  o-.,e,uen  constantly  goes  on,  from 
he  time  of  maturity  unt,.^,,treme  old  age  ;  the  secre- 
tion may,  indeed  be  increa..,  ^^  diminished  by  excite- 
ment or  repose  of  the  organs  ,  ^^,^  ^^^^.  f  ^}^ 
It  is  never  entirely  suspended  as  '  „  „„  f,  p^«i"u 
tissues  are  healthjl  Still,  this  v^^^^^KL^t -.^'^1"''^. 
fact  has  been  much  neglected  •  its  apphll^"'^  important 

"  The  foria  of  the  superior  extremities  p."  isevment. 
race  also  possesses  a  considerable  influence  ^^  0"ui'}n 
posing  to  abuse.     Many  animals   are  always  fit'^.''^'^''''' 
cundation,   .spermatozoa  being    found  in   them  ai  _^" 
seasons.     They  are,  however,  unable  to  excite  semini. 
impressions  without  the  aid  of  the  female.     Other  ani- 
mals, again,  which,  during  the  rutting  season,  show  an  al- 
most incredible  amount  of  erotic  fury,  are  still  unable,  by 
their  own  actions,  to  cause  spermatic  discharges  ;  their 
form  alone  prevents  this,  for  they  often  attempt  it,  and 
a  few  even  succeed.     It  is  well  known  with  what  fury 
apes  are  addicted  to  raa.sturbation — the  ape  being,  of  all 
the  lower  animals,  the  nearest  to  man  in  form.     To  this 
origiual  disposition,  more  perfect  in  man  than  in  any 
other  animal,   must  be  added  the  influence  of  patho- 
logical causes. 

"  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  irritation  caused  by 
ascarides  in  the  rectum,  of  the  erections  they  excite,  and 
of  the  abuses  induced  by  them.  We  shall  see,  by  and 
by,  that  herpetic  eruptions  on  the  penis  and  prepuce 
may  produce  the  same  eff'ects,  and  I  shall  show  also, 
that  an  accumulation  of  sebaceous  matter,  between  the 
prepuce  and  glans,  may  have  a  similar  influence.  I 
must  also  mention  irritation  of  the  cerebellum^  as  in- 
ducing serious  abuse,  of  which  I  shall  give  cftses  in  their 
proper  pkce. 

"  There  is  even  some  connection  between  the  organ? 


ot  generation  and  distant  diseases;  for  Dr.  Desportes 
has  mentioned  a  kind  of  angina  which  is  frequently  pre- 
ceded by  a  considerable  increase  in  the  venereal  desires, 
and,  consequently,  by  a  disposition  to  all  kinds  of 
abuses.  Pulmonary  phthisis  also  is  often  attended  by 
considerable  venereal  excitement.  It  may  a^  well 
then  be  at  once  admitted,  that  causes  predisposing  to 
masturbation  exist  in  the  human  organization  itself. 

''  External  or  exciting  causes. — Of  these  I  shall  lay 
particular  stress  on  such  as  act  before  puberty,  because 
they  have  hitherto  attracted  very  little  attention.  The 
most  anxious  parents  believe  that  there  is  no  occasion 
to  watch  over  the  actions  of  their  children  with  regard 
to  their  genital  organs,  previously  to  the  epoch  of  pu- 
berty ;  and  few,  even  of  our  own  profession,  are  led  to 
suspect  bad  habits  before  that  period.  This  is  a  fatal 
error,  against  which  it  is  necessary  to  be  on  our  guard ; 
numerous  causes  may  give  rise  to  abuses  at  a  much 
earil<ir  period — infancy  being  hardly  exempt  from  them 


*'  I  saw  one  unfortunate  child,  which,  while  still  at  the 
breast,  nearly  fell  a  victim  to  the  stupidity  of  its  nurse. 
She  had  remarked,  that  handling  the  genital  organs  ap- 
peased its  cries  and  induced  sleep  more  easily  than  any 
other  means,  and  she  repeated  these  manouvres  without 
noticing  that  the  sleep  was  preceded  by  spasmodic  move- 
ments. These  increased  and  took  on  a  convulsive  cha- 
racter, and  the  child  was  losing  flesh  rapidly  and  be- 
coming daily  more  irritable,  when  I  was  consulted.  At 
first  I  attributed  the  disorder  to  worms,  teething,  &c., 
but  my  attention  being  attracted  by  certain  signs,  I 
examined  the  genital  organs,  and  found  the  penis  erect. 
I  was  soon  told  all,  for  the  nurse  had  no  idea  she  was 
doing  wrong.  It  was  necessary  to  dismiss  her,  for  her 
presjence  alone  sufficed  to  recall  to  the  child's  memory 
sensations  which  had  already  become  a  habit.  Time 
and  strict  watching  were  required  before  these  early  im- 
pressions were  entirelj'  effaced. 

"  Dr.  Deslandes  relates  two  similar  cases,  and  Pro- 
mar  Halle,  in  his  lectures  on  hjfgiene,  used  to  mention 
■'uch ;  Chaussier  too  told  mc  of  several  that  came 


271 

under  his  notice  ;  and  both  these  observers  believed  such 
cases  to  bo  less  rare  than  they  are  usually  considered. 
These  xnanouvres  quiet  the  children  very  readil}^  and 
nurses  alwaj^s  endeavor  to  obtain  quiet  at  any  sacrifice  ; 
they  have  no  idea  of  the  consequences  of  their  conduct. 
At  a  later  period,  children  are  exposed  to  the  same 
dangers,  on  the  part  of  the  servants  having  them  in 
charge ;  and  in  these  eases  it  is  not  of  ignorance  that 
the  attendants  are  to  be  accused.  Many  patients  have 
consulted  me  who  owed  their  disorders  to  this  cause  ; 
and  in  Case  61,  I  have  shown  the  influence  which  such 
early  habits  exerts  on  after-life. 

"In  some  children  there  is  a  kind  of  precocity  of 
sexual  instinct,  which  lead.s  to  very  serious  results.  In 
these  it  often  happens  that  the  sexual  instinct  arises 
long  after  puberty  ;  such  children  manifest  an  instinctive 
attraction  towards  the  female  sex,  which  they  show  by 
constantly  spying  after  their  nurses,  chambermaids,  &e 
These  freaks  of  children  are  usually  laughed  at,  but  if 
they  were  regarded  with  more  attention,  it  would  be- 
come evident  that  the  sexual  impulse  has  been  already 
awakened. 

"  Rousseau,  in  his  confessions,  has  well  described  the 
influence  which  early  sexual  impulse  exercised  on  his 
whole  life,  and  I  have  received  numerous  confidences  of 
the  same  nature,  which,  however,  it  would  be  of  no 
service  to  relate  here.  One  case,  however,  is  so  re- 
markable, that  an  abstract  of  it  may  be  instructive  :— 

CASE   XXII. 

"M.  D.,  the  son  of  a  distinguished  physician,  between 
five  and  six  years  of  age,  was  one  day  in  summer,  in  the 
room  of  a  dressmaker  who  lived  in  his  family  ;  this  girl 
thinking  that  she  might  safely  put  herself  at  her  ease 
before  such  a  child,  threw  herself  on  her  bed,  almost 
without  clothing.  The  little  D.  had  followed  all  her 
motions,  and  regarded  her  figure  with  a  greedy  eye. 
He  approached  her  on  the  bed,  as  if  to  sleep,  but  he 
soon  became  so  bold  in  his  behavior,  that,  after  having 
laughed  at  him  for  some  time,  the  girl  was  obliged  to 
put  him  out  of  the  room.  This  girl's  simple  imprudence 
produced  such  an  impression  on  the  child,  that,  wh 


275 

he  consulted  me,  forty  years  afterwards,  he  had  not  for- 
gotten a  single  circumstance  connected  with  it.  The 
continual  occupation  of  his  mind  by  lascivious  ideas, 
did  not  produce  any  immediate  effect,  but,  about  the 
age  of  eight,  the  most  insignihcant  occurrence  served 
to  turn  his  recollections  to  his  destruction.  Having 
mounted  one  day  on  one  of  the  movable  frames  which 
are  used  for  buckling  coats,  he  slid  down  the  stem  which 
supports  the  transverse  bar,  and  the  friction  occasioned 
caused  him  to  experience  an  agreeable  sensation  in  his 
genital  organs,  lie  hastened  to  remount  and  to  slide 
down  in  the  same  manner,  until  the  repetition  of  these 
frictions  produced  effects  which  he  had  been  far  from 
anticipating.  This  discovery,  added  to  the  ideas  con- 
stantly before  him,  gave  rise  to  the  most  extraordinary 
abuses,  and,  after  a  time,  to  excessive  masturbation. 

"  I  need  not  mention  all  the  miseries  which  followed 
this  fatal  passion  ;  it  will  be  sufficient  for  me  to  relate 
the  means  to  which  he  had  recourse  for  its  correction. 
He  slept  on  a  very  hard  bed  without  a  shirt,  in  order  to 
avoid  friction,  and  covered  by  a  single  coverlet  sus- 
tained by  a  cradle  ;  his  arms  were  raised,  and  crossed 
above  his  head  ;  a  servant  remained  by  his  side  during 
the  night,  with  orders  to  awake  him  if  he  changed  his 
position.  When  he  got  up,  he  put  on  next  his  skin  a 
shirt  of  mail  weighing  twenty- two  pounds,  resembling 
those  worn  b.y  the  knights  of  old,  except  that  it  had  no 
sleeves,  and  that  it  was  attached,  at  its  lower  extremity, 
to  a  silver  basin,  fitted  to  receive  the  genital  organs, 
and  provided  with  openings  for  the  thighs.  This  shirt 
of  mail  was  in  front,  in  order  to  be  easily  put  on  and 
taken  of :  and  when  on,  it  was  laced  up  with  a  steel 
chain,  a  padlock  being  attached  to  the  end,  the  key  of 
which  was  kept  by  the  servant,  who  had  orders  not  to 
give  it  up  on  anj'  pretence  whatever.  Guarded  by  the 
silver  basin,  the  genital  organs  were  completely  re- 
moved from  the  touch,  a  little  opening  only  being  left 
for  the  discharge  of  the  urine.  As  a  still  greater  pre- 
caution, the  patient  had  caused  four  sharp  points  to  be 
fixed  in  front  of  this  case,  in  order  to  directly  oppose 
any  erection.  This  apparatus  he  continued  to  wear  for 
nine  or  ten  years,  although  it  frequently  caused  inflam 
tnation  of  the  testicles  and  spermatic  cords,   by  itf 


27f.- 

pressure.  Notwithstanding  all  these  precautions,  the 
patient's  moral  and  physical  condition  were  deplorable, 
which  led  me  to  suspect  the  presence  of  diurnal  pollu- 
tions. 

"  I  should  observe,  that  in  all  cases  of  which  I  have 
just  spoken,  the  children  were  five  or  six  years  of  age— 
at  most  eight — that  they  did  not  show  signs  of  puberty 
for  several  years  afterwards,  and  that  they  were  not  ex- 
posed to  the  influence  of  bad  example.  Their  sexual 
ideas  were,  therefore,  spontaneously  developed  several 
years  before  the  development  of  the  genital  organs. 
The  same  precocity  is  often  observed  in  children  of  the 
other  sex.  Of  this  I  shall  treat  more  fuU^  hereafter ; 
at  i^resent 

CASE   XXIII. 

I  shall  merely  call  attention  to  the  case  related  by 
Parent  Du  Chatelet,  of  a  little  girl,  who,  after  the  age 
of  four  years,  gave  herself  up  to  the  most  unbridled 
abuses. 

"  From  these  facts,  an  important  scientific  conclusion 
may  be  adduced,  viz  :  that  in  many  children  the  geni- 
al instinct  shows  itself  with  much  energy,  many  years 
before  the  age  of  puberty. 

"  A  no  less  important  practical  precaution  presents 
itself,  viz :  that  the  age  of  puberty  should  not  be 
■waited  for,  in  order  to  surround  children  with  prudent 
circumspection  and  to  prevent  their  curiosity  from  be- 
ing gratified. 

"  Many  parents  are  remarkably  careless  on  the  latter 
point  ;  they  permit  children  of  both  sexes  to  play  to- 
gether, promiscuously  for  hours,  without  any  surveil- 
anee,  provided  that  they  are  removed  from  all  danger 
»f  accident,  and  that  their  noise  is  not  annoying.  The 
confidence  of  many  parents,  also,  in  the  ignorance  of 
their  children,  makes  them  careless  of  the  marks  of 
rami  I iarity  which  are  given  to  each  other  in  their  pre- 
Bence  ;  children's  sleep  is  not  always  so  real  or  so  sound 
as  it  seems. 

"  It  is  sufficient  to  point  out  those  facts— every  per- 
son can  deduce  the  conclusions  ;  and  now  1  hasten  to 
consider  a  question,  the  gravity  of  which  has  been  al- 


277 

lowed  bv  all  who  have  written  respecting  masturbation 

— I  meWn,  the    influence    of   example    in    educational 
establishments. 

"  If  I  may  judge  from  my  own  observation  out  of  ten 
persons  whose  health  has  beeu  deranged  immediately  or 
recently  from  the  effects  of  masturbation,  nine  first  con 
tracted  the  habit  at  school.  AW  that  1  have  read  on  the 
subject  has  led  me  to  conclude  that  this  proportion  is  not 
exaggerated.  A  child  brought  up  in  the  bosom  of  his 
family  is,  it  is  true,  surrounded  by  many  causes  sufficient 
to  arouse  his  curiosity  and  excite  his  imagination  ;  but 
such  causes  act  accidentally,  and  in  an  isolated  manner — 
they  only  produce  a  serious  effect  on  a  few  ardent  imagi- 
nations ;  a  thousand  circumstances  may  remove  the  at- 
tention from  them.  At  school  it  is  admitted  that  such 
causes  do  not  exist ;  but  there  are  others  less  numerous 
and  less  varied,  but  which  operate  in  a  much  more  active 
and  continuous  manner  ;  the  effect  of  these  are  direct 
and  almost  inevitable.  The  child  finds  on  his  first  ar- 
rival a  focus  of  contagion  which  soon  spreads  itself 
around  him  ;  the  vice  is  established  cndemically,  and  is 
transmitted  from  the  old  pupils  to  those  newly  arriving. 
If  a  few  privileged  individuals  escape  being  initiated, 
they  are  only  such  as  do  not  experience  any  gi-atifica- 
tion.  But  their  time  will  come  at  a  later  period — when 
the  passions  make  themselves  felt — the  same  circum- 
stances will  be  presented  to  the  mind  under  a  less  dis- 
gusting aspect. 

"I  shall  not  enter  into  details  on  this  subject;  but 
from  all  that  has  come  to  my  knowledge  from  various 
and  direct  sources  of  information,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
affirm  that  nowhere  are  obscene  books  circulated  more 
freely  and  boldly  than  in  educational  establishments  ; 
that  the  origin  of  the  vice  is  not  solely  in  the  scholars, 
but  also  in  the  ushers  and  servants  ;  that  the  abuses  are 
not  always  confined  to  masturbation,  and  that  they  are 
not  always  propagated  by  example  or  persuasion,  but 
are  sometimes  enforced  by  threats  and  violence.  Let  it 
not  be  thought  that  I  am  now  speaking  of  rare  and  ex- 
ceptional cases,  or  that  I  exaggerate — I  possess  multi- 
plied and  convincing  proofs  of  my  assertions  ;  I  would 
not  either  that  I  should  be  misunderstood.  I  am  far 
from  denying  the  advantages  of  education  in  a  publi< 


278 

Behool,  and  1  am  ready  to  admit  that  the  competition 
among  a  number  of  children  produces  emulation,  forma 
the  future  cha.racter,  early  shows  each  his  own  value, 
and  lays  the  foundation  of  friendships  which  endure 
through  life." 

A  too  sedentary  life  is  injurious  at  all  ages,  especially 
in  childhood,  when  there  exists  such  constant  desire  for 
exercise  and  change.  Gymnastics,  therefore,  should  on 
this  account  alone  occupy  an  important  position  in  the 
system  of  education  ;  but  they  must  be  viewed  under  a 
much  more  serious  aspect.  Nothing  can  prevent  the 
genital  organs,  at  the  time  of  their  development,  from  re- 
acting on  the  economy  and  giving  rise  to  new  sensations 
and  ideas.  It  is  impossible  to  prevent  the  attention 
from  being  attracted  by  the  impressions  caused  by  these 
organs  ;  impossible  to  restrain  the  imagination  and  to 
prevent  it  from  frequently  dwelling  on  such  impressions. 
The  slightest  circumstance  may  in  such  a  case,  lead  to  a 
fatal  discovery,  even  if  the  information  be  not  transmit- 
ted directly  and  enforced  by  example.  How  are  such 
discoveries  to  be  prevented,  or  rather  how  are  their  re- 
sults to  be  guarded  against  1  Study  gives  us  no  aid 
here  ;  indeed,  the  continued  sitting  necessarily  heats  the 
organs,  already  too  excited.  The  eyes  may  be  fixed  on 
the  book,  the  ears  may  appear  to  listen  to  the  master, 
but  who  can  guard  against  the  wandering  of  the  im- 
agination 1  At  night  it  is  still  worse  ;  no  surveilance 
can  prevent  this.  There  exists  only  one  means  capable 
of  counteracting  it,  and  that  is,  muscular  exercise,  carried 
so  far  as  to  induce  fatigue.  This  alone  is  able  to  deaden 
the  susceptibility  of  the  newly  acting  organs  which  ex- 
cite the  economy;  exercise  alone,  by  requiring  matter 
for  the  repair  of  "the  muscular  waste  it  causes,  withdraws 
a  stimulant  from  the  genital  organs,  and  induces  sound 
and  refreshing  sleep. 

Dr.  McDonald  says,  M.  Lallemand  speaks  of  the  col- 
leges and  private  schools  in  France,  but  that  he  regrets 
to  say  that  his  statements  apply  with  nearly  their 
whole  force  to  the  schools  of  England.  Vice  is  common 
in  them ;  neglect  of  physical  education,  and  the  contract- 
ed nature  of  the  studies  to  which  pupils  are  confined  in 
our  classical  seminaries — the  understanding  being  unap- 
pealed  to,  and  the  reasoning  faculties  unexercised — the 


279 

natural  sciences  neglected,  and  the  whole  of  the  pupil' 
life  untJil  the  ago  of  seventeen,  employed  in  the  study  of 
the  de-ad  languages — are  matters  of  vital  importance,  ta 
•which  society  has  only  recently  begun  to  direct  its  atten- 
tion. He  says  also,  that  M.  Lallemand  enters  very 
fully  on  the  subject  of  education  as  conducted  in  France, 
and  well  exposed  the  errors  of  the  system.  Most  of  his 
remarks  apply  to  our  own  educational  system,  yet  as 
the  subject  is  not  strictly  medical,  and  as,  moreover,  M. 
Lallemand  has  treated  it  at  considerable  length,  I  think 
it  best  to  refer  those  of  my  readers  who  may  wish  in- 
formation on  it,  to  the  original  work. 

These  remarks  will  apply  to  the  schools  everywhere, 
in  all  other  countries,  and  especially  can  I  say  so  in  re- 
spect to  the  schools  on  this  continent. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 


VARIETIES   OF   ABUSE. 


"  I  think  it  will  be  useful  for  me  to  give  a  few  details 
respecting  the  different  kinds  of  abuse  which  have  como 
under  my  notice,  and  of  which  I  have  seen  the  hurtful 
influence  on  the  genital  organs.  I  shall  omit  all  such 
remarks  as  have  not  a  strictly  practical  bearing. 

"  We  have  already  seen  the  dangers  to  which  com- 
pression of  the  urethra,  to  prevent  the  discharge  of 
semen  during  ejaculation  may  give  rise,  (Case  35),  of 
Lallemand.  In  the  case  I  have  related,  it  seems  likely 
that  a  rupture  took  place  in  the  mucous  membrane,  be- 
cause the  patient  felt,  at  the  instant,  an  acute  pain,  and 
the  following  day  a  discharge  commenced,  which  con- 
tinued until  the  application  of  the  nitrate  of  silver. 
Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  discharge  involun- 
tary seminal  emissions  occurred,  attended  with  serious 
symptoms.  It  was  immediately  behind  the  glands  that 
this  patient  compressed  the  urethra,  and  it  is  quite  con- 
ceivable that  the  sudden  and  violent  distention  of  the 
canal  might  cause  a  tear  in  the  mucous  membrane  ;  bul 


280 

this  ia  not  always  the  case.     One  of  my  patents  writes 
aa  follows  : — 


CASE   XXIV. 

"*At  the  age  of  fourteen  I  practiced  masturbation 
three  or  four  times  a  week,  and  sometimes  frequently 
during  the  day.  In  order  to  prevent  the  discharge  of 
semen,  I  compressed  the  root  of  the  penis  firmly.  No- 
thing escaped  at  this  time,  but  I  soon  observed  that  the 
semen  was  discharged  with  my  urine  the  first  time  I 
passed  it.     I  followed  this  practice  for  about  two  j'cars.' 

'"Diurnal  pollutions  soon  appeared,  and  grew  more 
and  more  serious.  The  remainder  of  the  case  preseuta 
nothing  which  is  not  met  with  in  all  cases  of  sperma- 
torrhoea. What  I  wish  to  call  attention  to  here  is,  that 
the  compression  was  made  close  to  the  orifice  of  the 
ejaculatory  ducts,  and  that  the  patient  thought  at  first 
that  his  manoeuvres  were  not  followed  by  any  loss  of 
semen,  although  he  at  length  discovered  the  contrary. 
Fournier  and  Begin  report  a  similar  case  : — 


"  It  was  that  of  a  young  man,  who,  at  the  moment  of 
ejaculation  compressed  the  most  remote  parts  of  the 
urethra,  so  that  not  a  single  drop  of  semen  could  escape  ; 
yet  the  result  was  the  same  as  in  ordinary  cases.  Not- 
withstanding his  precautions,  his  strength  diminished, 
and  his  disorder  made  just  as  rapid  progress  as  if  the 
seminal  emission  had  been  perfect. 

"  The  following  is  even  a  more  remarkable  case.  I 
shall  allow  the  patient  to  speak  for  himself: — 

CASE    XXVI. 

"  'I  am  thirty-two  years  of  age,  and  I  have  had  noc- 
turnal emissions  from  the  age  of  fourteen  ;  I  have  also 
Buffered  from  discharges  while  at  stool,  for  ten  years. 
The  cause  of  these  pollutions  cannot  be  referred  to 
ma.sturbation,  for  I  have  not  practiced  it  twenty  timea 
during  my  whole  life.  The  pollutions  are  rather  owing 
to  reading  obscene  books,  for  they  commenced  soon 


281 

after.  At  first,  ejaculation  was  preceded  by  dreams, 
and  accompanied  by  active  erections  and  acute  sensar 
tions,  the  semen  being  ejaculated  with  force.  I  tried 
various  means  to  prevent  these  discharges.  I  have 
slept,  during  whole  nights,  with  my  penis  dipped  in 
cold  water,  or  compressed  between  two  pieces  of  wood 
formed  for  the  purpose.  I  have  tried  to  keep  myself 
awake  in  order  to  prevent  an  emission,  because,  when  I 
succeeded,  the  following  day  I  felt  stronger ;  but,  after 
two  or  three  nights,  sleep  always  overpowered  me.  I 
often  awoke,  however,  in  sufficient  time  to  prevent  the 
catastrophe  of  my  dreams,  but  frequently  it  was  too 
late  ;  on  such  occasions,  to  delay  the  discharge  or  to 
render  it  less  copious,  I  compressed  the  base  of  the  penis 
firmly  ;  but  it  seems  that  these  compressions  greatly 
injured  the  parts,  without  preventing  or  diminishing  the 
discharge,  which  took  place  inwardly,  as  I  have  often 
been  convinced  by  inspecting  my  urine.  From  that 
period  the  pollutions  have  no  longer  been  preceded  by 
dreams,  and  the  sensations  have  left  me,  so  that  I  am 
not  now  aroused  from  sleep.  My  erections  diminished, 
and  have  even  latterly  ceased  entirely.  For  three  years 
erections  have  rarely  accompanied  the  emissions  ;  when 
they  do  occur,  I  am  always  less  fatigued.  There  is  one 
thing  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  understand,  and 
which  wUl,  without  doubt,  appear  absurd  to  you  ;  it  is, 
that  I  experience  pollutions  without  erection,  sensation, 
or  the  escape  of  semen  by  the  urethra.  I  believe  that 
the  discharge  passes  in  a  retrograde  direction  and  be- 
comes mixed  with  urine,  because  the  next  morning  I 
find  little  globules,  a  cloud  and  filaments  in  that  fluid, 
just  as  formerly,  when  I  prevented  ejaculation  by  com- 
pressing the  root  of  the  penis  ;  whilst  my  urine  contains 
nothing  during  the  day  or  the  next  morning,  when  I 
have  not  experienced  these  pollutions.  On  waking  1  am 
perfectly  aware  of  what  has  occurred,  by  the  sweat  that 
covers  my  face,  the  fatigue  I  feel  in  all  my  limbs,  the 
headache  and  dizziness  that  aflfect  me,  the  dark  circles 
that  surround  my  eyes,  &c.  I  have  tried  cold  and  iced 
applications  with  slight  benefit.  For  some  time  the 
pollutions  were  rarer,  and  were  accompanied  with  erec- 
tion and  sensation  ;  but  soon  they  became  as  before,  and 
emission  did  not  take  place  outwardly.     These  internal 


28-2 

nollutions  huve  always  been  the  most  weakening 
vVhenover  I  succeed  in  passing  the  night  without  sleef* 
my  urine  is  transparent  in  the  morning,  and  I  feel 
strong.  After  several  nights  without  sleep,  I  generally 
have  an  energetic  emission,  which  fatigues  me  little ; 
but  soon  those  without  erection  and  without  external 
discharge  return,  and  then  I  always  feel  worn  out  on 
waking.' 

"  This  patient's  medical  iittendant  would  not  believe 
in  the  possibility  of  pollution  without  the  external  dis- 
charge ;  but  it  seems  clear  that  the  patient  really  had 
internal  emissions  without  perceptible  discharge  ;  that 
is  to  say,  that  the  semen  passed  into  the  bladder,  and 
was  discharged  with  the  urine,  as  had  occurred  before, 
when  ejaculation  was  prevented  by  pressure  on  the  pe- 
reneum.  This  compression  was  made  in  front  of  the 
ejaculatory  ducts,  and  was  very  often  repeated.  It  seema 
therefore  likely  that  it  was  the  frequent  repetition  of 
these  manoemTcs  that  at  length  caused  the  spontaneous 
passage  of  the  semen  into  the  bladder.  But  this  is  a 
question  to  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  return. 

"  Yet  all  these  manoeuvres  scarcely  differ  from  the  vari- 
ous means  recommended  by  some  surgeons  for  prevent- 
ing noctmTial  pollutions;,  and  we  may  then  perceive 
how  little  confidence  is  to  be  placed  in  the  instruments 
invented  for  that  purpose,  and  the  inconveniences  to 
which  they  may  give  rise.  It  seems  likely  that  the  dan- 
gers would  be  nearly  the  same,  in  whatever  part  of  the 
penis  the  compression  is  made  ;  except  if  there  be  suffi- 
cient space  in  the  urethra,  between  the  point  compressed 
and  the  ejaculatory  ducts,  to  contain  all  the  semen,  it 
would  be  discharged  directly  the  compression  is  re- 
moved. When,  on  the  other  hand,  the  compression  is 
made  immediately  in  front  of  the  orifice  of  the  ejacula- 
tory ducts,  the  semen  flows  back,  at  least  in  a  great 
measure,  so  as  to  induce  the  patient  to  believe  that  the 
discharge  had  been  stopped,  or,  at  all  events,  in  a  great 
measure  diminished,  and  to  induce  a  degree  of  security 
which  leads  to  further  abuses. 

'•  But  to  return  to  the  description  of  the  abuses 
which  have  been  admitted  to  me  by  so  many  other  pa* 
tioats :— 


283 


CASE   XXVII. 

"  One  of  these  informed  me,  that  about  the  period  i>£ 
puberty,  while  hanging  one  day  by  his  arm,  ho  experi- 
enced an  energetic  erection,  accompanied  with  pleasure, 
and  that  by  his  efforts  to  raise  his  body,  he  caused  an 
abundant  seminal  emission*!  This  was  the  first.  The 
next  day  he  repeated  the  same  motions,  and  noticed 
the  same  phenomena,  and  from  that  time  he  knew  no 
other  pleasure.  From  the  principles  which  had  been 
early  instilled  into  him,  he  would  have  thought  himself 
degraded  by  connection  with  a  female,  or  by  the  least 
manual  contact  with  his  genital  organs  ;  but  his  con- 
science was  quiet  with  regard  to  these  practices,  because 
they  had  not  been  forbidden  him.  He  continued,  there- 
fore, to  hang  by  the  hands,  from  the  furniture,  doors, 
&c.,  without  being  suspected  by  any  one,  and  fell  by  de- 
grees into  a  state  of  debility  and  wasting,  equal  to  those 
caused  by  the  most  unbridled  masturbation.  After  a 
time,  from  weakness  the  patient  lost  the  power  of  hang- 
ing, and  his  voluntary  emissions  ceased  ;  but  they  were 
soon  replaced  by  nocturnal  emissions,  which  were  very 
difficult  of  cure. 

CASE   XXVIIl. 

"  The  following  are  a  few  passages  from  a  letter  1 
have  recently  received  : — '  Being  of  an  ardent  tempera- 
ment, I  abused  myself  from  the  age  of  eight  years,  by 
practicing  masturbation,  or  rather,  by  still  more  hurtful 
manoeuvres.  By  compressing  the  penis  between  my 
legs,  or  against  the  seat  on  which  I  was  sitting,  I  pro 
duced  excitement,  which  was  commonly  followed  by  the 
discharge  of  a  few  drops  of  viscid  and  transparent  fluid. 
This  practice  I  repeated  several  times  a  day,  up  to  the 
age  of  sixteen,  when  I  ceased  entirely,  having  been 
frightened  by  the  discharge  of  nearly  pure  blood,  which 
occurred  several  times.  From  this  time  I  only  sought 
natural  enjoyments,  but  1  found  it  impossible  to  obtain 
a  complete  erection.  This  state  was  attributed  tc 
vreakness,  and  was  combated  by  tonics,  stimulents, 
and  even  irritants  of  all  kinds,  which  have  done  mo 
much  injury.     1  used  also  cold  bathing  and  cold  lotions 


'2M 


CASE   XiiX. 

'•  I  have  Been  an  officer  of  high  rank  who  bad  fallen 
nto  the  same  condition,  from  the  practice  of  similai 
uanoeuvrcs.  He  experienced  the  first  sensation  against 
the  leg  of  the  table,  at  the  early  age  of  ten  years,  and 
continued  for  several  years  to  employ  the  same  means. 

CASE   XXX. 

"  I  have  already  related  the  case  of  another  child, 
who  allowed  himself  to  slide  down  a  wooden  pole,  and 
the  deplorable  influence  which  this  circumstance  ex- 
ercised on  the  remainder  of  bis  life. 

"  In  a  few  of  my  patients,  horse-exercise  caused  the 
first  seminal  emissions.  I  shall  relate,  by  and  by,  the 
case  of  one  of  those  who  knew  scarcely  any  other  plea- 
sare,  and  who  became  quite  impotent  at  the  age  when 
virility  generally  is  the  greatest.  The  extreme  sus- 
ceptibility which  the  genital  organs  manifest  at  the 
period  of  puberty,  should  prevent  horse-exercise  from 
being  commenced  about  this  time,  as  is  usually  done. 
It  should  be  begun  a  few  years  earlier,  or  a  few  years 
later. 

"  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  danger  of  allowing 
children  to  sleep  on  the  abdomen,  (see  Case  33,  Lalle- 
mand.)  1  should  add,  that  many  of  my  patients  thus 
contracted  habits  which  ruined  their  health.  Inde- 
pendently of  the  inconveniences  to  respiration,  diges- 
tion &c.,  which  arise  in  this  position,  erections  are 
favored.  The  least  friction  awakens  new  sensations, 
and,  once  on  the  track,  progress  is  soon  made.  Some- 
times recollections  have  caused  the  choice  of  this  po- 
sition ;  of  this  I  have  related  a  remarkable  example, 
(see  Case  34,  Lallcmand);  at  other  times,  scruples  early 
instilled  by  a  sage  foresight,  but  which  the  violence  of 
the  impulse  has  at  length  succeeded  in  eluding,  have  in- 
duced it. 

CASE   XX3a. 

*•  Thus,  1  have  been  told,  respecting  one  of  my  pa- 
tients,  that  he  would  euSer  death  rather  than  defile 


285 


himself  by  touching  the  genital  organs  ;  yet,  for  five  or 
six  years,  he  seldom  passed  a  ni;jht  without  working 
his  own  destruction  while  lying  on  his  abdomen.  It  is 
not  necessary  for  me  to  enter  into  a  description  of  the 
other  means  by  which  patients  have  sought  to  satisfy 
their  genital  impulses,  without  transgressing  the  re- 
ligious and  moral  principles  which  had  been  taught 
them  from  infancy.  ^ufBce  it  to  say,  that  if  they  have 
succeeded  in  satisfying  their  consciences,  they  have  not 
succeeded  in  preserving  their  health. 

"  But  to  abstain  from  all  direct  action  on  the  genital 
organs,  is  not  always  sufficient  to  preserve  the  patient 
from  serious  disorders.  A  purely  nervous  excitement, 
awakened  by  other  senses,  or  directly  produced  by 
erotic,  may  bring  the  same  results  as  the  worst  abuses, 
if  prolonged  or  repeated  erections  are  caused  by  it. 
The  following  arc  a  feAv  such  examples  :— 

CASE   XXXII. 

"  A  student  aged  twenty-two,  born  in  Switzerland,  of 
sanguine  temperament,  and  great  muscular  power,  fell 
into  the  most  complete  state  of  impotence,  after  having 
been  for  some  time  exposed  to  ungratiiied  excitement. 
He  had  never  practiced  any  solitary  vice  ;  but  violent 
and  prolonged  erections  came  on,  and  were  produced 
during  the  day  by  the  influence  of  the  memory.  These 
erections  caused  abundant  and  frequent  nocturnal  em\s- 
sions.  Absence  put  an  end  to. the  excitement.  I'b? 
nocturnal  pollutions  diminished  by  degrees,  and  at  length 
ceased  entirely.  Yet  this  patient  fell  into  the  samo 
state  of  impotence  as  if  he  had  committed  the  greatest 
excesses  in  masturbation,  and  at  the  same  time  pre- 
served the  appearance  of  health  and  strength,  fhs 
cause  of  his  impotence  was  evident  on  examining  hi.^ 
urine,  and  causing  him  to  watch  for  diurnal  poUutiotji 
while  at  stool,  but  the  cure  of  these  pollutions  was  only 
perfect  after  two  years'  treatment. 

CASE   XXX III. 

"  I  have  seen  another  case  of  the  same  kind,  in  a 
young  man  who  passed  from  a  state  of  habitual  priapism 


286 


to  one  of  absolute  impotence,  without  any  other  cauM 
than  violent  excitement  of  the  genital  organs  by  an  ar- 
dent attachment ;  he  had  never  given  way  to  excess»of 
any  kind. 

CASE   XXXIV. 

"  I  also  had  under  my  care  an  English  officer,  who 
left  Calcutta  in  perfect  health,  and  arrived  in  London 
jompletely  impotent,  after  having  suffered  during  two 
months  from  almost  constant  excit'ement,  caused  by  the 
presence  of  a  female  on  board  ship.  This  state,  so  op- 
posed to  that  which  had  preceded  it,  continued  for  two 
years — the  whole  of  this  time  not  being  marked  by  the 
least  sign  of  virility.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that 
this  state  was  produced  by  diurnal  pollutions. 

"  I  related  a  case  a  few  pages  back,  in  which  noc- 
turnal pollutions  were  caused  by  reading  an  obscene 
book ;  and  I  have  seen  a  multitude  of  cases  of  this  na- 
ture. From  these  I  conclude,  that  in  certain  very  ox- 
citabl6*individuals,  reading  such  works,  the  sight  of 
voluptuous  images,  lascivious  conversation,  in  a  word,  all 
things  that  can  excite  or  keep  up  irritation  in  the  sper- 
matic organs,  are  capable  of  producing  the  same  effects 
as  actual  abuse,  even  when  the  will  is  sufficiently  power- 
ful to  prevent  the  thoughts  from  leading  to  the  acts. 
On  the  other  hand,  an  abundant  secretion  of  semen  with 
importunate  erections,  irritation  of  the  urethra  and  pro- 
state, alwaj's  results  under  such  circumstances,  and 
those  favor  the  occurrence  of  nocturnal  and  diurnal  pol- 
lutions, as  serious  and  perhaps  more  difficult  of  cure  than 
those  produced  by  masturbation,  because  it  is  impossible 
to  act  directly  on  the  memory  or  imagination. 

"  It  is  not  sufficient  then  to  prevent  all  material  action 
on  the  genital  organs  ;  it  is  necessary  also  to  prevent  all 
erotic  excitement  of  the  senses  and  all  concentration  of 
the  ideas  on  lascivious  objects.  Fortune's  favors  are  so 
distributed,  that  numbers  live  in  absolute  indolence 
without  being  blamed  by  the  world,  because  they  de- 
mand nothing  from  any  one.  This  inaction  produces 
results,  the  only  remedy  for  which  that  I  am  awaro  of,  ig 
daily  fatigue   of  the  body  by  various  kinds  of  cier- 


287 


CHAPTER  XIJI. 

EFFECTS  OF  ABUSES. 

The  effects  produced  by  the  different  kinds  of  abuse 
of  which  I  have  been  treating,  vary  according  to  the  age 
of  the  patient,  his  idiosyncrasy,  and  the  different  organs 
chiefly  affected.  I  have  laid  particular  stress  on  the 
causes  which  may  lead  to  bad  habits  some  time  before 
puberty,  I  must  now  consider  theh*  effects  during  this 
period. 

"  The  symptoms  arising  from  masturbation  in  the 
child,  (says  Lallemand),  have  been  always  hitherto 
confounded  with  those  produced  in  the  adult ;  they  pre- 
sent certain  distinctive  characters,  however,  which  re- 
quire our  consideration.  However  young  they  may  be, 
children  lose  flesh  and  become  pale,  irritable,  morose 
and  passionate ;  their  sleep  is  short,  disturbed  and 
broken.  They  fall  into  a  state  of  marasmus,  and  at 
length  die,  if  not  prevented  from  pursuing  their  course. 
Examples  of  suoh  a  termination  are  so  well  known  that 
T  forbear  to  quote  them. 

"Analogous  symptoms  are  shown  in  the  adult — follow 
nearly  the  same  course — and  may  lead  to  the  same  ter- 
mination ;  but  in  infancy,  more  or  less  severe  nervous 
symptoms  are  superadded,  which  are  not  fouud  in  those 
who  commenced  the  practice  after  puberty,  or  which  at 
least  are  not  in  the  latter  case  manifested  to  the  same 
extent  ;  such  are  spasms  and  partial  or  general  convul- 
sions, eclampsia,  epilepsy  and  paralysis,  accompanied 
with  contraction  of  the  limbs.  These  phenomena  were 
present  in  all  the  children  whose  cases  1  have  noticed, 
and  numerous  similar  facts  have  been  published  by  dif- 
ferent authors.  Contractions  of  the  limbs  have  been 
well  investigated  by  Dr.  Guerston.  and  he  notices  that 
they  especially  affect  such  children  as  are  lank,  un- 
healthy looking,  nervous  and  worn  out  by  bad  habits. 
The  following  case  is  sufficiently  remarkable :-  - 

CASE   XXXV. 

"  In  1824,  a  woman  brought  her  son,  eight  years  old, 
t.o  the  hospital  St.  Eloi ;  h«  had  lost  the  use  of  his  lowcf 


288 

extrciaitics  for  some  months.  The  limbs  were  fixed, 
drawn  together,  and  all  the  mus(;les  contracted.  The 
child  wa^  extremely  thin,  and  his  intellect  was  much 
disturbed.  Masturbation,  the  cause  of  all  these  di.-;- 
oiders,  had  only  been  discovered  by  his  mother  a  fev/ 
weeks  before  she  placed  him  under  my  care,  but  she  had 
used  every  means  she  could  devise  to  prevent  it  without 
clTeet.  After  two  or  three  trials  I  found  that  it  was  of 
no  use  trusting  to  the  straight,  waistcoats  and  othec 
means  usually  employed,  and  accordingly  1  determined 
to  pass  a  gum-elastic  catheter  into  the  bladder,  and  to 
fix  it  so  that  the  patient  .should  be  unable  to  withdraw  it. 
The  presence  of  the  foreign  body  excited  inflammation 
of  the  urethra,  as  I  expected  ;  when  this  occurred  1 
withdrew  the  instrument,  but  replaced  it  as  soon  as  the 
inflammation  had  subsided.  I  kept  up  in  this  manner  a 
constant  state  of  inflammation  for  a  fortnight,  which  ren- 
dered the  parts  so  painful  that  the  child  was  unable  to 
touch  them.  This  treatment  produced  more  deci.'iive 
success  than  I  had  ventured  to  hope.  Within  eight  days 
the  lower  extremities  had  regained  sufiicient  strength 
and  mobility  to  allow  the  child  to  get  up  ;  and  in 
another  fortnight  he  was  able  to  run  about  the  yards 
1  then  sent  him  away,  threatening  him  with  a  return  of 
the  same  treatment  if  he  relapsed.  The  pain  caused  by 
the  catheter  seemed  to  have  removed  all  the  other  im- 
pressions, for  his  health  continued  good,  and  growth 
followed  its  ordinary  course. 

"  I  have  since  employed  the  same  means  in  many 
cases  with  just  as  much  success,  and  I  think  it  more  sure 
than  any  other,  because  it  is  impossible  to  rely  on  the 
patient's  will  or  on  the  assiduity  of  those  who  are  ap- 
pointed to  watch  over  him.  Jn  children  too  it  leaves  an 
impression  on  the  memory  which  is  often  suflicieut  to 
destroy  the  empire  of  habit  and  to  prevent  a  return  to 
the  former  manoeuvres. 

"  But  to  resume  the  consiileration  of  the  symptoms 
observed  in  children:  In  childhood,  seminal  emissions 
are  never  experienced,  but,  novertlieles.^,  the  patients 
fall  into  a  state  of  marasmus,  to  which  some  even  suc- 
cumb. These  effects,  like  those  observed  under  the 
same  circumstances  in  the  female,  have  induced  some 
authors  to  leave  out  of  their  consideration  the  seminal 


2Sl> 

discharges  which  are  proi.luced  by  the  same  acts  at  a 
later  period.  They  have  iittributcd  the  debility,  which 
follows  all  abundant  discharges  of  semen,  to  the  nei  voua 
excitement  and  convulsive  motions  which  usually  ac- 
company the  discharge. 

"  The  accidents  observed  before  puberty  are  evidently 
only  due  to  the  etlects  on  the  nervous  system,  and  the 
same  sensation  accompany  voluntary  emissions  after  pu- 
berty ;  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  nervous  system 
plays  as  active  a  part  then  as  in  childhood.  I  willingly 
admit  the  importance  of  this  nervous  exhaustion  in 
whatever  manner  it  may  be  supposed  to  operate  ;  and, 
supposing  even  that  its  action  on  the  economy ^is  just  as 
important  as  during  childhood,  (which  is  not'the  case, 
as  I  shall  pr<!sently  show).  This  is  no  reason  why  the 
actual  discharges  should  not  be  taken  into  account, 
seeing  that  they  greatly  modify  the  character  and  con- 
sequences of  the  nervous  disturbance. 

•'  I  have  already  noticed  that  the  symptoms  produced 
by  abuses  during  childhood,  present  a  spasmodic  cha- 
racter ;  this  character,  without  doubt,  is  derived  from 
the  predominance  of  the  nervous  system  at  that  time, 
rendering  children  so  alive  to  external  impressions. 
This  excessive  sensibility  also  explains  the  great  dis- 
order of  the  economy  which  children  suffer  from  such 
manoeuvres. 

CASE   XXXVI. 

"  Deslandes  relates  a  case,  showing  that  any  action 
of  the  same  kind  may  produce  the  same  effects  .at  this 
early  age.  He  says,  'An  observer  Avorthy  of  credit, 
Dr.  Nurambeau,  has  communicated  to  me  the  case  of  a 
child  who  procured  himself  similar  sensations  by  drawing 
out  the  navel.  His  health  became  much  disordered 
from  the  effects  of  this  strange  habit,  which  had  such  a 
power  over  him  that  coercive  measures  were  required  for 
its  correction.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  this  patient 
showed  neither  erection  nor  any  other  phenomenon  of 
the  generative  organs  which  at  all  referred  to  sexual 
intercourse.  The  oi-gans  of  generation,  therefore,  had 
no  influence  in  producing  the  sensations  experienced 
by  this   child;   but   the   repeated  titilatiou  of  a  very 


290 

■ensitive  part  produced  the  same  disorder  as  mastur 
bat  ion.' 

*'  It  was  proved  in  the  debates  on  a  recent  criminal 
trial,  tliat  death  may  be  caused  by  prolonged  tickling 
of  the  sole  of  the  foot.  Nervous  disorders,  arising  from 
such  proceedings,  may  then  be  carried  so  far  as  to  cause 
death,  and  from  this  may  be  imagined  the  effects  of  the 
multiplied  convulsive  shocks  which  irritable  children 
produce,  by  acting  on  the  most  sensitive  organs  in  the 
iconomy.  Every  excessive  loss  of  semen  also,  even 
A^hen  uuaceomijanicd  by  sensation,  is  followed  by  de- 
oility,  and  this  may  be  carried  so  far  as  to  cause  death. 
I  have  related  several  such  cases  in  the  beginning  of 
.his  work. 

"  There  exists,  then,  two  distinct  causes — nervous 
iisturbance  and  debilitating  discharges,  and  both  these 
ict  at  once  when  seminal  emissions  are  produced  by  the 
influence  of  the  will.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
both  these  causes  should  produce  nearly  the  same 
symptoms,  because  they  bcith  weaken  the  economy. 
The  action  of  the  first  on  the  nervous  system  is  direct 
and  immediate,  and  the  symptoms  that  result  from  it 
are  of  a  more  spasmodic  character.  It  is  very  easy  to 
confound  these  two  causes  when  they  act  simultane- 
ously ;  but  I  have  just  shown  that  they  can  be  con- 
sidered separately.  The  following  reason  shows  the 
importance  of  so  doing : — 

"  Whenever  we  succeed  in  entirely  putting  a  stop  to 
the  habits  of  abuse  in  children,  we  may  make  sure  of 
obtaining  their  return  to  health,  and  that  very  quickly. 
This  I  have  remarked  in  all  the  cases  of  children  that  have 
come  under  my  care.  I  do  not  mean  to  infer  that  the 
disorder  done  to  nutrition  during  the  progcss  of  develop- 
ment is  easily  repaired,  but  that  the  acute  symptoms 
rapidly  disappear,  and  that  all  the  functions  are  quickly 
re-established.  If  the  effects  produced  are  active  and 
serious  they  cease  very  rapidly,  as  soon  as  the  cause  is 
removed,  and  return  to  health  becomes  certain.  Unfor- 
tunately matters  do  not  follow  so  simple  a  course  after 
puberty. 

"What  I  have  just  said  respecting  children,  applies 
equally  to  females  ;  this  is  easily  shown  by  examining 
the  cases  in  which  excision  of  the  clitoris  has  been  per 


291 

formed  for  the  cure  df  nymphomania.  The  state  of 
these  unfortunates  must  have  been  deplorable  indeed, 
to  justify  the  resort  to  such  means ;  yet  they  recovered 
very  rapidlj'. 

•'  Why  in  these  two  classes  of  cases,  is  the  cure  certain 
and  the  return  to  health  rapid,  as  soon  as  the  vice  has 
been  mastered  1  It  is  that  the  cause  of  the  weakness 
immediately  ceases  to  act  on  the  economy.  Why  is  it 
that  so  many  men  continue  to  waste  away  after  they 
have  entirely  left  off  their  habits  of  abuse  ?  It  is  be- 
cause diurnal  pollutions  have  commenced,  which  are 
even  more  debilitating  than  the  abuses  which  gave  rise 
to  them. 

"  Dr.  Deslandes  and  many  others  have  discovered  that 
there  is  a  great  difference  "in  the  conditions  of  persons 
who  have  practiced  masturbation  for  some  time,  and 
then  renounced  it ;  but  they  have  not  sought  the  expla- 
nation of  this  fact.  It  is,  however,  very  important  to 
know  why  some  are  cured  rapidly  and  completely,  while 
others  continue  to  suffer  and  languish  during  the  re- 
mainder of  their  lives.  The  symptoms  experienced  by 
the  latter  are  those  produced  by  diurnal  pollutions.  But 
if  we  inquire  why  some  should  be  affected  by  diurnal 
pollutions  while  others  are  exempt,  we  discover  that  we 
have  been  comparing  two  very  different  classes  of  pa- 
tients. The  one  class  conquered  their  bad  habits  by  the 
force  of  their  will — the  other  class  were  compelled  to 
renounce  them  by  impotence.  The  former  resisted  their 
desires  while  they  were  yet  active  :  they  required  much 
perseverance  and  moral  energy  in  order  "to  succeed.  The 
latter  only  left  off  as  they  were  less  tempted — the  pro- 
gressive disease  in  their  erections  being  due  to  the  pre- 
sence of  undiscovered  diurnal  pollutions. 

"  Such  patients  deceive  themselves  as  to  the  cause  of 
their  changing  their  habits,  and  are  astonished  at  not 
finding  any  benefit  arise  from  such  change.  Some  of 
them  even  remark  to  their  medical  attendants  that  it  is 
after  they  have  left  off  their  malpractices,  that  their 
health  has  become  altered. 

"  All  these  circumstances,  embarrassing  at  first  sight, 
are  easily  explained  on  a  little  reflection.  At  first  the 
genital  organs  are  heaJthy  ;  the  constitution  is  un- 
injured ;  no  seminal  emissions  occur  except  those  that 


arc  induced  voluntarily,  and  the  activity  of  the  di- 
gestive orgjuis  permits  a  rapid  n-pair  of  the  lo.9SfS.  But 
as  soon  as  irritation  is  set  up  in  tlie  .spermatic  organs,  a 
large  quantity  of  somen  is  secreted,  and  escapes  every 
day,  and  several  times  a  day,  without  the  patient's 
knowledge.  The  digestion  is  disordered  ;  the  erections 
and  voluptuous  sensations  diminish,  because  the  semen 
is  less  perfectly  formed  ;  the  provocations  are,  there- 
fore, weakened  by  degrees,  and  the  patient  renounces 
without  difficulty  habits  which  only  inspire  him  with 
disgust,  lie  wonders  that  his  heailh  still  continues  to 
grow  worse,  for  he  has  not  discovered  that  he  passes 
daily,  by  often  repeated  evacuations,  more  semen  than 
he  formerly  passed  in  a  j)erceptible  manner,  and  he  does 
not  take  into  account  the  difficulty  felt  by  his  economy 
of  repairing  these  frequent  discharges.  We  must  not 
then  confound  those  whose  virility  leaves  them,  with  those 
whom  the  power  of  their  will  eau.ses  to  recover,  and 
we  must  not  be  surprised  at  seeing  the  alteration  in  the 
habits  of  each  followed  by  very  different  consequences. 

"  In  order  to  make  the  distinctive  character  of  these 
two  j)ositions  clear,  1  have  laid  stress  on  their  most 
striking  points.  But  there  are  numerous  slight  shades 
of  distmction  which  1  have  not  mentioned  ;  for  in- 
stance, in  some  cases  the  two  classes  of  phenomenon 
occur  successively  in  a  very  distinct  manner,  at  very 
near  periods.  Many  patients  having  corrected  them- 
selves once,  find  their  health  promptly  re-established. 
But  when,  after  recovering  their  strength,  they  have 
relap.sed  into  tiieir  former  habits,  on  renouncing  them 
a  .second  time,  they  obtain  no  benefit.  These  different 
results,  under  apparent  similar  circumstiinccs,  can  only 
be  explained  by  the  occurrence  of  diurnal  pollutions  in 
consequence  of  the  return  to  habits  of  abuse. 

"  Case  31  is  a  clear  and  perfect  proof  of  the  correct- 
ness of  this  explanation.  The  patient  recovered  twice 
after  having  twice  conquered  his  passions  ;  but  the 
third  time  he  only  gave  it  up  through  disgust,  ami  his 
health  continued  to  deteriorate  until  cauterization  ar- 
rested the  diurnal  pollutions  from  which  he  sutVered. 

"  There  are  many  circumstances  which  interfere  with 
the  good  resolutions  of  tho.se  addicted  to  masturbation. 
After  a  few  days  of  !»bsolute  continence,  attained  with 


203 


aiacb  difficulty,  tlioy  frequently  suffor  from  nocturnal 
pollutions,  tkc  more  frequent  aud  the  more  abundant  in 
proportion  as  the  sperniiitic  organs  have  boon  much  ir- 
ritated;  the  patients  always  feel  more  debilitated  by 
these  involuntary  discharges  than  by  those  which  they 
previously  excited.  Instead  of  combating  these  pollu- 
tions by  suitable  means,  or  after  having  employed  one 
or  two  plans  unsuccessfully,  they  think  they  will  be  able 
to  diminish  the  evil  by  recurring  to  their  former  habita 
at  distant  intervals,  and  they  thus  relapse,  increasing 
still  more  the  irritation  of  the  parts.  Soon  after  diurnal 
pollutions  commence  and  rapidly  produce  their  effects  ; 
but  as  these  are  not  discovered,  the  patients  rejoice  to 
find  the  nocturnal  discharges  gradually  disappearing ; 
but  their  health  daily  grows  worse.  This  thej'  cannot 
comprehend,  and  are  frequently  led  to  imagine  that 
they  have  mistaken  the  cause  of  their  disorder." 

Many  authors  have  noticed  the  indifference  which 
persons,  addicted  to  masturbation,  show  towards  the  op- 
posite sex.  This  sentiment  is,  indeed,  very  common  in 
those  who  have  carried  their  abuses  to  a  great  extent; 
but  I  do  not  think  it  arises,  as  has  been  stated,  from  the 
long  habit  of  solitary  vice  ;  at  all  events,  I  can  assign  a 
more  direct  cause  for  this  indifference,  viz.  :  the  relative 
impotence  of  the  patients — I  ssij,  relative  impotence,  be- 
cause they  possess  sufficient  power  of  erection  to  permit 
the  practice  of  masturbation,  but  not  enough  to  admit 
of  sexual  intercourse  ;  and  such  patients  seldom  mani- 
fest any  dislike  to  the  opposite  sex  until  they  have  ex- 
perienced several  disappointments,  the  remembrance  of 
which  constantly  haunts  them.  Their  views  change 
immediately  that  the  diurnal  pollutions  which  kept  up 
this  impotence  are  arrested. 


294 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


EFFECTS   OF   TEAIPERA^IENT,    IDIOSYNCRASY,    fcO. 

The  effects  of  abuses  vary  mucfi  in  their  ciiaractera 
and  intensity,  according  to  the  individuals  attacked. 
Some  persons  are  uninjured  by  the  most  unbridled 
abuses,  even  when  long  continued,  whilst  others  are 
very  quickly  disordered  by  slight  abuse.  In  this  re- 
spect 1  have  witnessed  very  opposite  cases  with  every 
variety  of  intermediate  degree. 

Temperament  seems  to  have  little  influence  in  pro- 
ducing this  inequality  of  resistance.  Strength  or  feeble- 
ness of  constitution  is  not  of  so  much  importance  aa 
might  be  supposed.  The  very  unequal  power  of  the 
genital  organs  affords  the  only  satisfactory  explanation. 
I  shall  refer  to  this  point  more  fully  when  treating  of 
venereal  excesses. 

Idiosyncrasy  .—hi  the  same  individual,  all  the  organs 
are  not  equally  affected  by  abuse  ;  this  is  shown  by  the 
frequent  predominance  of  certain  symptoms  which  give 
to  tne  case  a  particular  appearance,  and  are  apt  to  lead 
to  grave  errors  of  diagnosis  and  treatment.  I  have  re- 
lated many  cases  in  which  this  occurred.  The  presence 
of  special  symptoms,  wherever  a  generally  debilitating 
cause  acts  on  the  economy,  arises  from  inequality  of 
development  or  of  activity',  existing  in  certain  organs. 
I  shall  at  present  only  consider  the  direct  and  immediate 
action  of  abuses  on  the  genital  organs,  so  as  to  show  the 
mode  in  which  they  produce  noctui'nal  and  diurnal  pol* 

UtiOQS. 


295 
CHAPTER   XV 

URETHRAL   DISCHARGES. 

Attacks  of  blennonhagia  (clap)  are  more  frequenS 
in  persons  addicted  to  masturbation  than  is  generally 
supposed.  Cases  of  this  kind  have  frequently  fallen 
under  my  notice.  In  the  greater  number  of  these  pa- 
tients the  discharge  was  small  in  quantity,  viscid  and 
nearly  transparent,  or  very  slightly  colored.  It  scai'cely 
differed  in  appearance  from  the  prostatic  secretion  ;  but 
in  many  patients  the  discharge  was  abundant,  more  or 
less  colored,  and  attended  with  pain  in  the  urethra,  es- 
pecially during  the  passage  of  urine.  Several  suffered 
from  all  the  symptoms  of  a  contagious  biennorrhagia. 

CASE   XXXVII. 

"  In  others  the  same  symptoms  recurred  two  or  three 
times,  and  in  one  patient  the  discharges  re-appeared  as 
many  as  five  times,  always  from  the  same  cause.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  there  existed  a  kind  of  iutermittance 
in  the  habits  of  the  last  mentioned  patients  ;  after  haying 
been  moderate,  or  even  quite  continent  for  some  time, 
they  recommenced  masturbation  with  fury,  and  the 
urethral  discharges  supervened  on  these  relapses.  Two 
of  my  other  patients  suffered  from  stricture  of  the  ure- 
thra after  one  of  these  attacks  of  biennorrhagia,  just  as 
occurs  after  contagious  biennorrhagia,  and  in  one  of 
these  cases  the  stricture  was  very  tight  and  very  difficult 
of  cure.  r       •     i 

"  I  should  remark  that  I  am  now  speakmg  of  patients 
who  had  never  had  sexual  intercourse,  and  that  I  leave 
out  of  the  question  such  as  had  suffered  from  cutaneous 
affections,  in  which  the  urethral  mucous  membrane 
might  have  participated.  I  must  add  that  thirteen  of 
Buch  patients  had  not  reached  the  age  of  puberty  when 
the  discharges  occurred. 

"  These  discharges,  not  having  been  excited  by  any 
virus,  or  by  any  constitutional  disposition,  must  be  re- 
ferred to  the  effects  of  masturbation.  Many  of  them 
havuig  occurred  before  the  age  of  puberty,  it  is  evident 
that  they  could  not  consist  of  semen. 


i 


2!K> 


CASE    XXXVJII. 
I'KOSTATITIS. 


"  Sevei-iil  of  my  jwitiVnts  suffered  from  retention  of 
urine,  iifter  the  must  frightful  abuses  ;  and  it  was  ueces- 
BHiy  to  relieve  some  of  thtm  with  the  catheter.  In  one 
patient  an  abscess  formed  in  the  prostate,  and  discharged 
through  the  pereneum. 


"  I  have  related  many  cases  of  acute  and  chronic  cys- 
titis, of  which  masturbation  was  the  sole  cause. 

EMISSIONS  OF  BLOOD. 

"  Some  of  ray  patients  had  carried  their  passions  so 
far  as  to  provoke  emissions  of  pure  blood,  or  of  semen 
mixed  with  blood.  Authors  contain  many  such  cases, 
which  show  that  the  pathological  condition  of  the  ure- 
thra has  extended  itself  to  the  lining  of  the  seminal  ves?i- 
cles.  Other  patients  suffered  from  more  or  less  severe 
attacks  of  hematuria  ;  many  experienced  irritation  of  the 
bladder  and  kidneys,  attended  with  an  abundant  secre- 
tion of  bloody  urine  and  constant  desire  to  pass  urine — ' 
Rometimes  even  micturation  was  involuntary.  Thus  the 
inflammation  or  irritation  caused  by  masturbation  may, 
like  that  accompanying  blennorrhagia,  extend  by  de- 
grees, until  it  reaches  the  kidney.  It  will  be  easily  be- 
lieved that  the  irritation  does  not  extend  In  this  direc- 
tion only. 

ORCHITIS, 

'*  I  have  seen  several  cases  in  which  the  patients  suf- 
fered from  acute  attacks  of  orchitis,  after  furious  mas- 
turbation ;  and  frequently  such  orchitis  has  required 
v«ry  active  treatment  for  its  relief.  In  one  case  the  pa- 
tient had  not  reached  puberty  when  this  occurred.  In 
many  such  cases  no  doubt  accessory  circumstances  eX' 
isted,  althougii  the  patients  attributed  the  development 
of  the  orchitis  only  to  masturbation.  Others  more 
slightly  affected,  experienced  pain  in  the  testicles  and 
jpermatic  cords,  accompanied  with  swelling  of  the 
spididymis.     Others,  again,  suffered  a  painful  sense  cf 


.ensioii ;  they  felt  as  if  the  testicles  were  held  in  a  vice, 
or  squeezed  by  a  hand  of  iron.  In  many,  the  least  con- 
tact of  the  parts  with  the  clothes  was  insupportable, 
and  the  weight  of  the  testicles  caused  very  severe  drag- 
ging pain.  In  all  such  cases  the  patients  were  obliged 
to  wear  suspensory  bandages,  and  often  to  guard  the 
testicles  from  friction  with  cotton,  wool,  or  swans'-down. 

"  These  symptoms  which  I  have  considered  separatel}-, 
generally  occur  together,  and  often  form  varying  groups 
which  present  special  appearances  depending  on  the 
predominance  of  one  of  the  symptoms.  Sometimes  the 
patients  mention  one  circumstance  only,  because  that 
one  alone  has  attracted  their  attention ;  but  when 
questioned,  they  recollect  many  others  which  appeared 
trifling  by  the  side  of  the  more  serious  one.  It  is  also 
important  to  remark,  that  diurnal  pollutions  generally 
follow  very  soon  after  the  appearance  of  these  symp- 
toms, and'that  the  patients  are  A  long  time  without  dis- 
covering them,  and  sometimes  only  detect  them  when 
taught  what  to  expect. 

"  The  more  we  reflect  on  these  morbid  phenomena  and 
the  course  of  their  appearance,  the  more  striking  is  the 
resemblance  between  the  effects  of  excessive  masturba- 
tion and  those  of  blennorrhagia.  I  admit  that  the 
symptoms  do  not  always  present  the  characters  of  well- 
marked  inflammation,  but  they  at  least  show  those 
of  active  irritation  of  the  parts.  It  is  easy  enough  to 
give  a  clear  explanation  of  what  passes  in  all  cases  of 
this  kind,  with  perhaps  some  slight  shades  of  differ- 
ence. The  testicles  secrete  more  semen,  which  is  im- 
perfectly formed  ;  the  seminal  vesicles  participating  ir 
the  state  of  irritation  of  the  neighboring  organs,  do  not 
easily  bear  its  presence — they  contract  more  readily,  as 
they  are  more  easily  affected  by  external  impressions. 
Hence  it  becomes  more  and  more  difficult  to  avoid 
nocturnal  pollutions.  After  a  little  time,  diurnal  pollu- 
tions occur  and  become  more  and  more  frequent  and 
abundant ;  that  is  to  say,  there  is  a  constant  disposition 
in  the  seminal  vesicles  to  contract  spasmodically  and 
expel  their  content«s. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  the  semen,  ill  secreted  by  the 
teeticles,  and  remaining  a  shorter  time  in  its  reservoirs, 
•ecomes  thinner  and  more  watery  ;  and  by  degrees,  as 


•298 

it  loses  its  physiological  characters,  it  also  loses  its 
normal  properties;  it  becomes,  therefore,  unfit  to  |./o- 
duce  its  effects  on  the  seminal  vesicles.  The  erection? 
are  consequently  less  energetic  and  less  lasting,  and 
after  a  time  incomplete  and  fleeting,  whilst,  in  the  end, 
in  severe  cases,  they  disappear  altogether.  Hence  the 
embarrassment  and  timidity  of  such  patients  in  the 
company  of  females,  and  the  fear  they  experience  of 
finding  themselves  in  a  position  to  expose  their  impo- 
tence ;  and  hence  their  indifference  and  even  aversion 
for  the  sex,  and  the  constantly  increasing  difficulty  they 
experience  in  changing  their  habits.  Such  abuses, 
then,  because  their  effects  remain  long  after  the  habits 
have  been  altered,  bring  on  symptoms,  of  which  the 
cause  is  unsuspected.  This  is  the  reason  why  the  health 
of  some  continues  to  deteriorate,  whilst  that  of  others, 
are  re-established  as  soon  as  they  have  renounced  their 
malpractices.  This  is  why  tonics,  aphrodisiacs,  cold 
bathing,  and  iced  drinks,  produce  effects  so  different 
from  those  expected. 

"  There  are  undoubtedly  cases,in  which  the  spermatic 
organs  are  weakened  and  relaxed.  I  shall  relate  several 
instances  of  this  in  a  future  chapter  ;  but  we  shall  then 
see  that  such  a  state  arises  from  primary  relaxation  of 
habit  and  rather  from  want  of  use  of  the  organs,  than 
from  their  abuse. 

"  In  concluding  my  remarks  on  the  subject  of  mastur- 
bation, I  may  observe,  that  it  is  the  most  dangerous  of 
all  vices  of  this  nature,  because  it  is  the  most  difficult 
to  discover  and  to  prevent,  and  because  it  does  not  re- 
quire any  assistance  for  its  consummation.  From  the 
cases  I  have  seen,  I  conclude  that  the  irritation  excited 
by  such  manoeuvres  very  easily  induces  involuntary  dis- 
charges ;  that  the  appearance  of  nocturnal  pollutions  in 
those  who  attempt  to  abandon  the  vice,  often  causes 
them  to  r-eturn  to  their  former  habits,  and  that  the  di- 
minution of  virility  which  follows,  far  from  favoring  the 
patient's  amendment,  frequently  hinders  it  by  proving 
an  obstacle  to  their  having  sexual  intercourse,  while  it 
does  not  prevent  them  from  continuing  their  bad  prac- 
tices. This  circumstance  is  a  powerful  cause  of  the  dis- 
orders which  attend  such  as  are  reduced  to  vicioni 
habits." 


299 
CHAPTER  XVI. 

EROTOMANIA  AND    SATYRIASIS. 

These  affections  are  generally  confounded  together, 
yet  the  difference  is  very  considerable,  though  their 
manife-ctations  are  similar.  There  is  an  unnatural  sex- 
ual desire  in  both  of  them,  which  is  often  so  unconsola- 
ble,  that  gratification  is  attempted  at  any  sacrifice. 
They  are  produced  by  disease,  as  has  been  shown  in  the 
preceding  Chapters  of  this  work. 

Satyriasis  is  caused  by  a  disease  of  the  sexual  organs,  or 
the  adjacent  parts,  which  keep  them  in  a  constant  irrita- 
tion, often  so  great  as  to  prevent  proper  sleep  and  caus- 
ing the  greatest  uneasiness  at  all  times,  producing  a  most 
furious  excitement ;  those  which  are  most  likely  to  pro- 
duce satyriasis  are  the  piles,  ascarides,  bladder,  and  the 
urethra  or  prostate  gland.     Dr.  Curling  remarks,  that 

"  The  irritation  attending  the  morbid  condition  of  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  prostatic  portions  of  the  ure- 
thra, tends  in  a  very  material  degree  to  excite  both  the 
excessive  seminal  discharge  and  the  secretions  of  the 
Ijrostate,  and  to  produce  that  morbid  craving  for  indul- 
gence and  abuse  which  persons  who  have  brought  them- 
selves to  this  state  find  so  difficult  to  repress  and  resist. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  any  imtation  at  the  orifice  of 
an  excretory  duct  usually  acts  as  a  stimulus  to  the  se- 
cretion of  the  gland.  Thus,  hm-tful  matter  in  the 
duodenum  produces  a  flow  of  bile  ;  and  a  foreign  body  in 
the  conjunctiva,  as  an  inverted  eye-lash,  a  discharge  of 
tears ;  so  it  is  with  the  testes  when  irritation  exists  at 
the  orifices  of  their  excretory  ducts.  The  disorder  at 
this  part,  moreover,  appears  to  react  on  the  brain,  and 
to  become  in  part  the  cause  of  the  patient's  mind  being 
constantly  occupied  with  subjects  of  sexual  excitement, 
and  of  his  indifference  and  apathy  to  other  matters  ;  so 
that  the  local  disease  induced  by  abuse  powerfully  aids 
in  perpetuating  the  mischief;  and,  judging  from  the 
experience  which  I  have  had  in  these  cases,  is  the  object 
to  which  our  treatment  should  be  first  directed. 

"  In  all  of  these  cases  reasoning  is  of  no  use  whatever  .• 
the  cause  must  be  removed  or  the  disease  will  continue 


for  the  patient  can  no  more  control  himself  than  he  coula 
if  he  was  laboring  under  a  diarrhoea  or  fever. 

"This  is  a  truth,  I  fear,  not  sufficient!}'  impressed  on 
the  minds  of  medical  men.  One  would  be  loath  to  offer 
any  apology  for  the  viciws  habits  and  indulgences  to 
which,  it  is  well  known,  old  men  are  occasionally  ad- 
dicted—a melancholy  example  of  the  kind,  in  the  higher 
ranks  of  life,  having  lately  been  brought  under  public 
notice.  I  cannot  but  think,  however,  that,  in  many  in- 
stances, these  canes  are  not  undeserving  of  professional 
sympathy,  and  that  the  erotic  longings— which  some- 
times coTitinue  to  distress  the  aged  long  after  the  period 
at  which,  in  the  course  of  nature,  they  should  have 
ceased— depend  as  much  on  physical  infirmity  as  mental 
depravity,  the  former  inciting  and  producing  the  morbid 
desires.  If  these  propensities  were  regarded  and  treated 
as  symptoms  of  disease,  (and  that  they  frequently  occur 
in  ccmnection  Avith  affection  of  the  urinary  passage,  is 
we'll  kiK)wn  to  practical  surgeons),  I  believe  they  would 
often  subside,  and  the  distressing  results  to  which  they 
lead  would  be  altogether  avoided." 

Erotomania  differs  from  satyriasis  as  respects  the  seat 
of  the  disease,  as  the  former  is  in  the  brain  arul  not  in 
the  genitals  directly,  for  they  are  only  afil'cted  in  a 
secondary  manner. 

Dr.  Copeland  is  A'ery  clear  in  his  distinction  of  the  two 
diseases  ;  but  1  will  hero  say,  nymphomania,  to  which 
he  refers,  is  the  same  disease  in  the  female  as  satyriasis 
in  the  male.     He  says, 

"  Erotomania— Monomunie  erotique  of  Esquirol,  is 
characterized  by  an  excessive  love  of  some  object,  real 
or  imaginary.  It  is  a  mental  affection  in  Avhieh  amoroua 
ideas  are  as  fixed  and  dominant  as  religious  ideas  are  in 
religious  momomauia  or  melancholia.  Erotomania  is 
very  different  from  satyriasis  and  nymphomania.  In 
the  latter  the  mischief  is  in  the  reproductive  organs  ;  in 
the  former  it  is  in  the  mind.  The  one  is  a  physical,  the 
other  a  moral  disorder. 

"  Erotomania  is  the  result  of  an  excited  imagination, 
unrestrained  by  the  powers  of  the  understanding :  sa- 
tyriasis and  nymphomania  proceed  from  the  local  irri- 
tation of  the  sexual  organs,  reacting  upon  the  brain, 
and  excitmg  the  passions  beyond  the  restraints  of  ren* 


PLATE  2^. 


:£r^.  1% 


^^;'% 


Fi^.  U 


303 

son.  In  the  former,  there  ia  neither  indecency  nor  the 
want  of  chastity  ;  in  the  latter,  there  is  unrestrained 
expressions  of  sexual  desire  and  excitement.  The  oneia 
commonly  caused  by  ungratitied  or  disappointed  affec- 
tion excited  in  a  virtuous  mind  ;  the  other,  by  inordi- 
nate irritation  or  indulgence  of  the  sexual  passion. 

"  In  erotomania,  the  eyes  are  bright,  the  manner  and 
expressions  tender  and  passionate,  and  the  actions  free, 
without  passing  the  limits  of  decency.  Self  and  selfish 
interests  are  all  forgotten  in  the  devotion  paid,  often  in 
secret,  to  the  object  of  the  mind's  adoration.  A  state 
of  ecstasy  often  occurs  in  the  contemplation  of  the  per- 
fections which  the  imagination  attaches  to  the  sub- 
ject of  its  admiration.  The  bodily  functions  languish 
during  this  state  of  moral  di.sorder;  the  countenance 
becomes  pale  and  depressed  ;  the  features  shrunk ;  the 
body  emaeiated  ;  the  temper  unquiet  and  irritable  ;  and 
the  mind  agitated  and  despairing.  The  ideas  con- 
tinually revert  to  the  loved  and  desired  object  ;  and  op- 
position or  endeavors  to  turn  them  in  a  different  direc- 
tion ordy  render  them  more  concentrated  and  determined 
in  their  devotion.  At  last,  parents  and  fortune  are 
abandoned,  social  ties  broken  asunder,  and  the  most 
painful  difficulties  are  encountered,  in  order  to  obtain 
the  object  of  admiration. 

"  In  some  cases  the  attempts  made  by  the  patient  to 
conceal  and  overcome  this  atfeetiou,  occasion  a  state  of 
irritative  fever,  with  sadness,  depression,  loss  of  appe- 
tite, emaciation,  &c.,  Avhich  has  not  inappropriately 
been  termed  by  Lorrey,  Erotic  Fever,  and  which,  after 
continuing  an  intermediate  period,  may  even  terminate 
fatally. 

"  When  a  young  person  becomes  sad,  absent  in 
mind,  pale  and  emaciated,  sighs  frequently,  sheds  tears 
without  any  obvious  reason,  is  incapable  of  any  mental 
or  bodily  exertion,  scarcely  speaks  to  any  one,  loses  ap- 
petite, &c.,  it  is  suflBciently  evittent  that  the  mind  is 
inordinately  possessed  by  some  desired  object.  If  a 
Btrong  effort  be  not  made  to  dispossess  it  of  the  pre- 
dominant sentiments,  or  if  the  object  of  desire  be  not 
obtained,  the  symptoms  become  still  more  distressing. 
The  corporeal  functions  languish,  the  eyes  sink,  the 
pulse  becomes  weak  and  irregular,  and  the  nights  dis* 


not 

turbed  and  sleeplt3»s.  At  last  a  form  of  slow  hoctie  is 
produced^  and  t&c  weaker  organs,  especially  the  lungs 
and  heart,  are  the  seat  of  slowly-produced  drsease  ;  the 
whole  frame  is  blighted,  and  the  patient  sinks  from  tho 
injurious  influence  of  the  mental  affection  on  the  vital 
orpans- 

'•  This  form  of  moral  disorder  may  increase,  and 
affect  the  intellect  in  a  much  more  serious  manner, 
until  general  insanity  or  mania  is  developed  ;  and,  with 
the  progress  of  time,  it  may  at  last  terminate  in  de- 
mentia or  incoherent  insanity.  In  each  of  these,  the 
primary  character  of  the  disorder,  or  the  original  moral 
affection,  will  still  continue  to  be  manifested  by  the 
frequent  suggestion  of  the  same  train  of  ideas,  or  re- 
currence to  the  object  of  devotion." 

I  need  not  impress  the  importance  of  the  selection  of 
a  proper  phj'sician  in  all  of  the  cases,  which  I  have  so 
fully  treated  on,  in  the  foregoing  pages,  for  I  think  the 
facts  therein  presented,  and  tho  immense  deal  of  suffer- 
ing and  fatality,  which  has  and  still  is  caused  by  the 
Ehysicians  not  understanding  the  pi'oper  treatment — 
om  the  lack  of  the  necessary  practice — will  put  all  who 
are  unfortunately  afflicted,  or  who  have  any  friends  or 
relatives  in  such  a  position,  on  their  proper  guard,  and 
where  the  most  worthy  among  so  great  a  number — say- 
ing nothing  of  their  fitness  to  be  employed — can  be  found. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE  INFLUENCE  WHICH  DIFFERENT  ARTICLES  HAVE — 
MEDICINES  AND  OTHERS — IN  PRODUCIN&  AND  CURING 
SPERIVIATORRHCEA  AND   IMPOTENCE. 

There  are  not  many  medicinal  substances  that  act  di- 
rectly on  the  genital  organs ;  some  of  those  thftt  do  eo, 
are  beneficial,  and  some  of  them  highly  injurious.  From 
tho  immense  deal  of  imposition  practiced  both  by  the 
quacks  and  regular  practitioners,  I  have  con.-luded  to 
present  a  few  remarks  and  extracts,  that  others  may  o«> 


805 

oape  their  base  productions,  and  thus  save  the  confle- 
quent  injury  that  their  use  would  be  sure  to  cause. 

There  has  always  been  an  ignorant  notion  existing 
among  the  people  generally,  that  physicians  were  ac- 
quainted with  the  secret  specification  of  certain  medi- 
eines  on  the  generative  functions,  which  would  arouse  a 
sexual  ardor  under  almost  any  circumstances,  and  in  or- 
der to  play  upon  the  credulity  of  the  public,  and  at  the 
same  time  better  their  pecuniary  circumstances,  have 
originated  the  various  cordials,  elixirs,  stimulants,  &c., 
which  are  so  much  advertised,  in  order  to  attract  the 
attention  of  those  who  are  troubled  with  emissions,  sem- 
inal weakness,  imiwtency  and  sterility.  None  of  them 
are,  in  the  slightest  degree,  capable  of  performing  what 
Is  promised  ot  them. 

It  is  only  very  recent  that  a  discovery  has  been  made 
of  certain  dn-.gs  which  will  produce  the  most  astonishing 
beneficial  action,  in  those  cases  suffering  from  loss  of 
power,  yet  each  individual  case  requires  its  being  ad- 
ministered with  a  skillful  hand,  after  a  full  statement  of 
the  case  has  been  presented,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  the 
knowledge  of  the  ingredients  will  be  kept  from  those  char- 
latans who  only  know  how  to  prescribe  for  all  alike, 
notwithstanding  the  differences  presented  in  almost 
every  case. 

Purgatives  are  thought  by  almost  everybody  to  act 
only  upon  the  bowels,  but  mstead  of  that,  as  I  have  al- 
ready shown,  irritation  from  spasmodic  contractions  of 
the  rectum  extends  to  the  seminal  vesicles,  and  produce 
just  as  great  and  distressing  diurnal  pollutions  as  those 
which  arise  from  mechanical  compression  of  the  same 
organs ;  so  that  of  ascarides,  diarrhoea,  &c.,  produce 
emissions,  they  as  a  matter  of  course  will  be  caused 
by  drastic  purgatives,  because  they  act  chiefly  by  irri- 
tating the  large  intestine,  and  which  bring  on  in  the 
rectum  and  neighboring  parts  a  more  permanent  state 
of  irritation,  aud  consequently  excite  an  unnatural  flow 
of  urine  by  irritating  the  bladder.  Now,  the  spermatic 
ducts  and  prostate  gland  are  close  to  the  rectum,  and 
are  just  as  much  afiected  as  the  bladder — which  is  one 
reason  wh}-^  patients  are  injured  instead  of  being  benefit- 
ted by  using  such  a  mode  of  treatment — because  they  are 
costive,  which  they  generally  are.     T  have  had  a  great 


r>or. 

many  patients  from  physicians  who  so  foolishly  adopted 
such  ticatiJieiit,  in  a  worse  state  than  they  were  before 
they  visited  them. 

NARCOTICS. 

I  have  often  been  obliged  to  prohibit  patients  the  use 
of  tobacco,  liquor,  coU'ee  and  tea,  and  as  evidence  that 
other  surgeons  also  have  found  some  or  all  of  them  in- 
jurious 1  will  here  insert  some  of  their  remarks. 

CoJJ'ec — M.  Lallemand  says,  aflfects  the  cerebro-spinal 
system,  and  that  attention  has  not  been  paid  to  its  ac- 
tion on  other  organs.  T.'iken  in  moderate  tjuantities,  it 
excites  the  bladder  and  kidneys,  increases  the  secretion 
of  urine,  and  renders  its  discharge  more  frequent.  It 
acts  in  the  same  manner  on  the  spermatic  organs,  aug- 
ments the  venereal  desires,  favors  erections,  and  accele- 
rates ejaculation.  Taken  in  excess,  however,  it  pro- 
duces injurious  effects. 

Tea. — M.  Lallemand  is  supported  in  his  views  of  the 
action  of  tea  by  Dr.  McDougal,  and  is  satisfied  its  ef- 
fects are  very  similar  to  coHee.  lie  further  says,  there 
are  many  other  agents  besides  those  he  has  mentioned, 
which  excite  or  increase  involuntary  seminal  discharges. 

Tobacco. — This  article  produces  similar  effects  on  a 
great  many  persons  to  opium  and  other  narcotics.  At 
first  they  often  stimulate,  but  afterwards  they  weaken 
ihe  sexual  organs,  so  much  so  as  to  cause  complete  impo- 
;ency.  This  no  doubt  is  caused  by  the  relaxation  of 
ihe  ejaculatory  ducts. 

In  the  thirteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Massachusetts 
State  Lunatic  Asylum,  there  are  excellent  remarks  on 
tobacco,  which  I  cannot  refrain  from  inserting.  After 
the  remarks  on.the  injurious  effects  of  alcohol  it  goes  on 
to  say, — 

"Alcohol  is  not  the  only  narcotic  which  thus  affects 
the  brain  and  nervous  system.  Opium  produces  delirium 
tremens,  and  probably  insanity.  Tobacco  is  a  powerful 
narcotic  agent,  and  its  use  is  very  deleterious  to  the 
nervous  .system,  producing  tremors,  vertigo,  faintnoss, 
palpitation  of  the  heart,  and  other  serious  diseases. 
That  tobacco  certainly  produces  insanity,  I  am  not  able 
positively  to  observe ;  but  that  it  produces  a  prcdispo- 


307 

Mtion  to  it,  .  am  fully  confident.  Its  influence  on  the 
brain  and  nervous  system  generally,  is  hardly  less  ob- 
vious than  that  of  alcohol,  and,  if  used  excessively,  is 
equally  injurious.  The  young  are  particularly  suscepti- 
ble to 'the  influence  of  these  narcotics.  If  a  young  man 
hecomes  intemperate  before  ho  is  twenty  years  of  age, 
he  rarely  lives  to  thirty.  If  a  young  man  uses  tobacco 
while  the  s^-stem  is  greatly  susceptible  to  its  influence, 
he  will  not'^be  likely  to  escape  injurious  effects  that  will 
be  developed  sooner  or  latei*,  and  both  diminish  the  en- 
joyments of  life  and  shorten  its  period. 

"  The  very  general  use  of  tobacco  among  young  men 
at  the  present  day  is  alarming,  and  shows  the  ignoranco 
and  devotion  of  the  devotees  of  this  dangerous  practice 
to  one  of  the  most  virulent  poisons  of  the  vegetable 
world.  The  testimony  of  medical  men,  of  the  most  re- 
spectable character,  could  be  quoted  to  any  extent  to 
sustain  these  views  of  the  deleterious  influence  of  this 
dangei-ous  narcotic. 

"  Dr.  Rush  says  of  tobacco,  '  It  impairs  the  appetite, 
produces  dyspepsia,  tremors,  vertigo,  headache  and 
ejnlepsy.  It  injures  the  voice,  destroys  the  teeth,  and 
imparts  to  the  complexion  a  disagreeable,  dusky  brown.' 

"  Dr.  Boerhave  says,  that,  'Since  the  use  of  tobacco 
has  been  so  general  in  Europe,  the  number  of  hypo- 
chondrical  and  consumptive  complaints  have  increased 
by  its  use.' 

"Dr.  Cullen  says,  'I  have  known  a  small  quantity 
snuffed  up  the  nose  to  produce  giddiness,  stupor  and 
vomiting.  There  are  many  instances  of  its  more  vio- 
lent cflFects,  even  of  its  proving  a  mortal  poison.' 

"  Dr.  Darwin  says,  '  It  produces  disease  of  the  sali- 
vary glands  and  the  pancreas,  and  injures  the  power  of 
iigestion  by  occasioning  the  person  to  spit  off  the  saliva 
yhich  he  ought  to  swallow.' 

"  Dr.  Tissott  once  saw  the  smoking  of  it  prove  fatal. 

C.\SE   XXXIX. 

"Dr.  Pilcher  details  the  particulars  of  a  case  of  a 
medical  student  whom  he  had  been  requested  to  see 
'  This  gentleman  suffered  under  all  the  symptoms  of 
phthisis.       There    was    mneo-purulent    expectoration 


308 

night  sweats,  &f,.  Tho  mucous  membrane  of  the 
throat,  epiglottis,  and  the  neighboring  parts,  were  coat^ 
ed  with  a  brown  fur.  The  patient  had  been  an  im- 
moderate snuff-taker;  ho  was  told  to  discontinue  the 
enuff— he  did  so,  and  recovered.' 


'  Dr.  Chapman  says,  '  By  a  member  of  Congress  from 
he  west,  m  the  meridian  of  life,  and  of  a  very  stout 
frame,  I  was  some  time  since  consulted.  He  told  me 
that  from  having  been  one  of  the  most  healthy  and  fear- 
less of  men  he  had  become  sick  all  over  and  timid  as  a 
girl.  He  could  not  even  present  a  petition  to  Congress 
much  less  say  a  word  concerning  it,  though  ho  had  long 
been  a  practicing  lawyer,  and  served  much  in  legisls^ 
tive  bodies.  By  any  ordinary  noise  he  was  startled  or 
thrown  into  tremulousne-ss,  and  afraid  to  be  alone  at 
night.  His  appetite  and  digestion  were  gone  ;  he  had 
painful  sensations  at  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  and  unre- 
lenting constipated  bowels.  During  the  narrative  of 
his  suffering,  his  aspect  approached  the  haggard  wild- 
ness  of  mental  distemperature.  On  inquiry,  1  found 
that  his  consumption  of  tobacco  was  almost  incredible 
by  chewing,  snuffing  and  smoking.  Being  satisfied 
that  all  his  misery  arose  from  this  poisonous  weed 
Its  use  was  discontinued,  and  m  a  few  weeks  he  entirelv 
recovered.  '' 


CASES   XLI   AND   XMI. 

"  Distressing  as  was  this  case,  I  have  seen  others, 
trom  the  same  cause  even  more  deplorable.  Two  youno- 
men  were  in  succession  brought  to  mo  for  advice,  whom 
1  found  in  a  state  of  insanity,  very  much  resembling  de- 
lirium tremens.  Each  had  chewed  and  smoked  to- 
bacco to  excess,  though  perfectly  temperate  as  regarded 
drink.  Iho  further  account  given  me  was,  'that  in 
early  life  adopting  this  bad  practice,  it  grew  with  their 

frowth.  Dyspepsia  soon  occurred,  attended  by  great 
erangemeut  of  the  nervous  system,  and  ultimately  tho 
mania,  I  have  mentioned ;  but  I  have  also  seen  the  same 
condition  very  speedily  induced.' 


309 

"  Dr.  Franfilin  says,  '  He  never  used  it,  and  nevof 
met  with  a  man  who  did  use  it  that  advised  him  to  fol' 
low  his  example.' 

"  The  venerable  John  Quincy  Adams,  in  a  recent 
letter  on  the  subject,  says,  that  in  early  life  he  used 
tobacco,  but  for  more  than  thirty  years  he  had  discon- 
tinued the  practice.  '  I  have  often  wished,'  says  he", 
'  that  every  individual  of  the  human  race,  affected  with 
this  artificial  passion,  would  prevail  upon  himself  to  try 
but  for  three  months,  the  experiment  which  I  have 
made,  and  I  am  sure  it  would  turn  every  acre  of  to- 
bacco-land into  a  wheat-field,  and  add  five  years  to  the 
average  of  human  life.' 

"  Some  cases  have  come  imder  my  observation  which 
show  the  injurious  effects  of  tobacco  where  no  evil  was 
suspected. 

CASE   XLIII. 

"  A  respectable  merchant,  who  abstained  wholly 
from  ardent  spirits,  applied  to  me  for  advice.  He  com- 
plained of  great  weakness,  tremor  of  the  limbs  and 
joints,  with  lassitude,  general  prostration  of  health,  and 
depression  of  spirits.  Knowing  that  he  used  tobacco 
freely,  I  advised  him  to  discontinue  it  entirely  ;  he  soon 
became  better,  and  after  a  time  was  wholly  relieved 
from  these  disagreeable  symptoms. 


CASE   XLIV. 

"  A  distinguished  clergyman  informed  me  that  ho 
had  been  an  extravagant  snuff-taker  ;  that  for  years  he 
had  a  disagreeable  affection  of  the  head,  and  his  health 
was  not  good.  He  did  not  attribute  either  to  the  use 
of  snuff,  but  thinking  it  a  filthy  habit  and  a  growing 
evil,  he  resolved  to  leave  it  off.  He  was  surprised  to 
find  that  the  diflBeulty  in  his  head  almost  immediately 
left  him,  and  his  general  health  became  quite  good. 

CASE   XLV. 

"  A  gentleman  of  athletic  frame,  and  about  twenty* 
four  years,  of  age,  applied  to  me  for  advice.  He  com- 
plained of  insufferable  faintness  and  distress  of  stomach. 


310 

morning  sickness,  vomiting,  trembling,  and  prostration 
of  strength.  He  diminished  his  tobacco  considerably, 
and  was  immediately  better,  but  had  not  resolution  to 
abandon  I  he  i)ernicious  practice. 

"  In  our  experience  in  the  Hospital,  tobacco  in  all  its 
forms  is  injurious  to  the  insane.  It  increases  excitement 
of  the  nervous  system  in  many  cases,  deranges  the  stom- 
ach, and  produces  vertigo,  tremors,  and  stupor  in 
others.  It  is  difficult  to  control  its  u.se  with  the  insane, 
and  although  considerable  sufi'ering  comes  from  its  en- 
tire abandonment,  it  cannot  be  generally  allowed  with 
safety 


"  One  patient,  while  at  labor,  found  a  quantity  of  to- 
bacco, and  hid  it  in  his  bed.  He  used  it  freely,  became 
sick,  lost  his  appetite,  and  confined  himself  to  his  bed, 
completely  intoxicated.  After  some  days,  diligent 
search  was  made,  and  a  store  of  tobncco  Avas  fouml  in 
his  straw  bed;  when  this' was  removed  he  almost  imme- 
diately recovered,  and  in  a  few  days  he  was  as  well  as 
before. 

CASE   XLVII. 

"  A  person  who  carac  into  the  Hospital  a  furious  ma- 
niac, soon  became  calm,  and  improved  favorably.  Ho 
labored  in  the  field  with  propriety,  and  exhibited  every 
indication  of  a  favorable  convalescence.  Suddenly  with- 
out any  apparent  cause,  he  again  became  very  violent 
and  insane.  It  was  soon  discovered  that  he  had  in  some 
way  obtained  tobacco.  After  he  ceased  to  use  it,  ho 
again  became  calm  and  convalescent. 

CASE   XLVlir. 

"  An  aged  lady  was  brought  to  us  very  insane.  Tho 
practice  of  her  friends  for  some  time,  had  been  to  give 
her  ardent  spirits  to  intoxicate  her  at  night,  and  tobac- 
co and  simlf,  in  unlimited  quantity,  for  the  da}'.  All 
these  were  withdrawn  at  once ;  her  sufferings  for  some 
days  were  great,  but  after  a  time,  she  became  calm, 
and  got  better  as  soon  as  the  influence  of  this  excitement 
v,-aa  over. 


311 

**  It  is  very  natural  to  suppose  that  an  article  possess- 
ing the  active  properties  of  this  fascinating  narcotic, 
ehould  produce  most  deleterious  eifocts  upon  health — 
particularly  upon  the  brain  and  nervous  system. 

"  The  uninitiated  cannot  smoke  a  cigar  or  use  tobacco 
in  any  form,  without  unpleasant  effects — how  then  can 
it  be  possible  that  a  poison  so  active  can  be  used  with 
impunity'?  The  stomach  and  brain,  subjected  to  such 
influences,  will  become  diseased,  and  show  their  effects 
as  certainly  as  if  alcohol  were  used. 

"  If  asked  my  medical  opinion,  which  was  safest,  four 
glasses  of  wine  or  four  quids  of  tobacco,  daily  1  I  should 
saj',  unhesitatingly,  the  wine.  Of  the  two  evils,  this 
would,  in  my  opinion,  be  the  least.  Tobacco  is  the 
strongest,  most  dangerous  narcotic — the  habit  of  its  use 
is  the  strongest  and  most  diflScult  to  overcome,  and  the 
influence  felt  from  it  most  baneful  and  destructive  to 
health." 

Opium,  of  course,  is  much  worse  than  tobacco,  as  the 
exhaustion  it  produces  is  not  so  readily  recovered  from, 
for  if  its  use  once  cause  impotency,  it  is  quite  doubtful 
if  he  can  be  restored  to  his  former  powers. 

I  will  close  this  article  bj'  quoting  what  M.  Lallemand 
says,  in  a  number  of  his  cases,  on  its  effects  in  decreasing 
and  otherwise  affecting  the  sexual  desires.  1  very  often 
have  patients  affected  in  the  same  way. 

CASE   XLIX. 

"  I  have  a  young  man  of  very  nervous  temperament 
at  present  under  my  care,  in  whom  nocturnal  and  di- 
urnal pollutions  have  brought  on  pain  in  the  loins,  pal- 
pitation, difiiculty  of  breathing,  &c.,  symptoms  which 
were  supposed  to  arise  from  disease  of  the  spinal  cord, 
cardia)  affection  and  commencing  phthisis.  Among  the 
exciting  causes  of  these  involuntary  discharges,  the 
effects  of  smoking  occupy  the  chief  place.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  patient's  statement : — 

"  '  At  twenty  years  of  age  I  wished  to  accustom  my- 
self to  smoking  ;  but  a  day  never  passed  without  my  ex- 
periencing complete  intoxication,  attended  with  vomit- 
ing, vertigo,  and  trembling  of  the  limbs.  I  continued 
the  habit,  however,  and  I  soon  began  to  perceive  that 


312 

my  sight  became  weak,  and  that  I  lost  my  memory ; 
my  hands  shook,  and  my  digestion  became  much  dis- 
ordered. I  noticed  also  great  debility  of  the  genital 
organs  ;  my  erections  ceased  ;  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  1  found  myself  completely  impotent.' 

"  This  patient  had  rarely  practiced  masturbation,  and 
had  never  committed  any  excess  when  he  first  began  to 
smoke  ;  his  health  had  previously  been  excellent.  It 
is,  therefore,  evident,  that  the  impotence  as  well  as  the 
other  symptoms,  arose  from  tobacco.  Impotence  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  can  only  be  produced  by  involuntary 
seminal  discharges,  provided  there  be  no  physical  disa- 
bility. In  the  present  case,  there  was  no  doubt  on  the 
point,  the  patient  himself  having  discovered  diurnal  and 
nocturnal  pollutions. 

"  The  action  of  tobacco  on  those  Avho  smoke  for  the 
first  time,  is  too  Avell  known  to  require  description  ;  more 
or  less  disorder  of  all  the  functions,  varying  according 
to  the  constitution  of  the  individual,  invariably  arises 
from  it ;  and  this  disorder  always  presents  more  or  less 
of  the  characteristics  of  poisoning  by  narcotics.  These 
effects  go  off  by  degrees,  as  the  patient  becomes  habitu- 
ated to  the  use  of  tobacco,  and  generally  after  a  time 
cease  to  be  manifested  at  all.  Some  nervous  and  ex- 
citable individuals  are  unable  to  accustom  themselves  to 
the  habit,  as  in  the  case  just  mentioned ;  in  others, 
again,  smoking  becomes  an  artificial  habit,  which  in 
many  cases  is  almost  a  necessity. 

'*  But  this  empire  of  custom  has  its  limits,  beyond 
which  the  narcotic  influence  re-appears.  In  such  as  are 
not  easily  affected,  this  acquired  habit  is  generJiUy  sup- 
ported with  impunity  ;  but  even  then,  if  it  be  indulged 
in  to  excess,  it  must  after  a  time  bfe  injurious.  Thus  it 
is  that  the  most  accomplished  smokers  often  experience 
vertigo,  cephalagia,  anorexia,  &c.,  when  they  have  re- 
mained long  in  an  atmosphere  densely  filled  with  smoke, 
which  is  then  drawn  into  the  lungs,  and  probably  pro- 
duces worse  effects  than  when  merely  drawn  into  the 
mouth,  or  swallowed,  as  in  smoking. 

"  In  a  word  then,  if  the  power  of  habit  can  prevent  the 
momentary  effects  of  smoking  from  showing  themselves, 
the  frequent  repetition  of  the  use  of  tobacco  produces 
more  lasting  effects  on  different  organs.     Disorder  ftf  the 


313 

digestive  orgaus  is  well-krl0^yn  as  occurring  in  inveterat'e 
smokers — that  of  the  genital  orgaus  l^as  uot  hitherto 
been  noticed." 

Dr.  McDonald  says,  that  "  Many  inveterate  smokera 
among  his  professional  friends  have  mentioned  to  him 
the  diminution  of  their  veneral  desires,  as  one  of  the 
effects  of  tobacco." 

• 

CANTHAEIDES. 

The  application  of  a  blister  on  a  particular  part  of  the 
body  will  not  only  increase  involuntary  seminal  dis- 
charges, but  will  cause  them.  Cantharides  v?ill  do  this, 
whether  used  as  a  blister  or  administered  as  an  internal 
remedy,  because  it  will  cause  an  inflammation  of  the 
bladder  and  the  contiguous  parts  of  the  body  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  urine.  This 
is  the  reason  that  physicians  have  administered  this  drug 
in  cases  of  seminal  discharges  and  impoteucy,  supposing 
them  to  be  caused  from  atony  or  a  relaxation  of  the 
genital  organs.  But  of  the  hundreds  that  have  come  to 
me,  after  its  use,  not  one  had  received  the  slightest  bene- 
fit ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  had  been  injured  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  be  troubled  with  a  constant  bearing  down 
and  other  pains  in  the  region  of  the  bladder,  obliging 
them  to  pass  urine  (in  one  bad  case,)  as  often  as  ninety 
times  within  the  twenty-four  hours.  Many  patients  le- 
ceived  an  increase  of  all  their  symptoms,  and  impotence 
taking  the  place  of  the  weakness  of  the  genitals.  In- 
jecting the  urethra  produces  the  same  result. 

If  a  physician  does  not  understand  the  nature  of  a  dis- 
ease, I  am  surprised  that  he  would  have  even  the  re- 
motest idea  of  undertaking  to  cure  it,  much  more  doing 
so,  for  if  they  did  understand  it,  they  would  not  use 
cantharides,  for  instead,  as  they  suppose,  no  doubt,  of 
the  disea-se — Emissions — being  caused  by  a  weakness  of 
the  organs,  they  are  produced  by  irritation,  and  will  in- 
crease instead  of  being  removed,  unless  that  irritation 
and  cause  is  removed,  which  can  never  be  done  by  this 
nor  any  other  medicines  ;  yet,  see  patients  every  day 
that  have  been  under  the  care  of  physicians,  or  used  all 
of  the  remedies  which  are  so  much  lauded  in  the  papers 
as  being  the  only  cure. 


314 

The  public  have  long  labored  under  the  great  error  of 
supposing  canthjfridcs  would  create  or  restore  power  to 
the  genital  organs,  and  a  desire  for  sexual  gratitication, 
to  an  extent  that  would  satisfy  the  purposes  not  only  of 
those  who  really  needed  something  of  the  kind  ;  but  it 
has  been  given  for  base  purposes  in  many  a  case,  I  have 
no  doubt.  Many  a  female  case  has  been  presented  to 
me  of  gi^at  sufferings,  caused  by  its  use. 

There  has  been  very  recent  discoveries  of  harmless 
medicines,  which  are  surprisingly  effective  in  cases  of 
impotency,  sterility,  and  weakness  of  the  generative 
system  ;  but  I  administer  it,  of  course,  in  accordance  to 
the  peculiarities  of  each  case. 

CAMPHOR. 

This  is  a  good  antidote  for  the  injurious  conse- 
quences of  the  use  of  cantharides ;  but  its  use  for  th« 
cure  of  spermatorrhoea  often  causes  injury. 


As  an  instance  of  its  injurious  efiFects,  M.  Lallemand 
says,  "  One  of  his  patients  who  put  camphor  between 
the  prepuce  and  glans  penis,  sutitred  so  much  from  di- 
urnal pollution  as  to  endanger  his  life." 

It  is  a  drug  which  quacks  use,  and  I  have  found  in 
a  great  many  patients,  after  having  used  their  remedies, 
an  augmentation  instead  of  diminution  of  their  symp- 
toms 

NITRATE   OF    POTASS. 

I  consider  this  almost  as  injurious  and  dangerous  as 
cantharides  ;  but  notwithstanding  all  its  injurious  effects, 
almost  all  doctors,  and  nearly  every  quack  remedy, 
especially  for  the  cure  of  gonorrhoea,  gleet,  tc.,  in- 
corporate it  with  their  other  drugs.  In  the  inflamma- 
tory stage  of  these  diseases  it  is  supposed  to  have  a 
sedative  effect.  It  is  considered  a  diuretic,  because  it 
increases  the  flow  of  urine,  thereby  stimulating  the 
kidnej's.  But  if  it  would  stop  there  it  would  not  causa 
30  much  barm,  for  it  produces  hematuria,  pain,  and  iu- 


315 

flammation  of  the  bladder,  consequently  swelled  tes- 
ticles, and  increase  of,  or  will  originate  an  inflammation 
of  the  urethra  and  prostate  gland.  As  further  proof 
of  its  injurious  effects  I  will  insert  a  case  mentioned  by 
M.  Lallemand : — 


"  A  merch^t  of  Genes,  wishing  to  take  a  purgative, 
tfent  to  a  druggist  for  an  ounce  of  sulphate  of  mag- 
nesia. By  mistake  an  ounce  of  nitrate  of  potass  was 
returned  by  the  messenger  and  taken.  Violent  inflam- 
mation of  the  urinary  passages,  accompanied  with  a  dis- 
charge resembling  bleunorrhagia  (clap)  resulted,  swell- 
ing took  place  in  about  the  centre  of  the  urethra,  and 
when  the  acute  stage  of  inflammation  had  passed  off",  a 
circumscribed  induration,  which  obstructed  the  dis- 
charge of  urine,  remained.  Twenty  years  afterwards 
the  patient  still  suffered  from  this  obstruction,  for  the 
formation  of  which  there  had  been  no  other  cause  than 
the  inflammation  produced  by  the  nitrate  of  potass. 
The  patient  had  never  had  bleunorrhagia,  either  before 

"  It  appears  then  the  nitrate  of  potass  acts  as  a  stimu- 
lant of  the  whole  urinary  apparatus  ;  and  it  is  at  least 
probable  that  it  produces  the  same  effect  on  the  sper- 
matic organs.  I  am  led  to  this  opinion  partly  by  an- 
alogy, but  chiefly  because  more  than  forty  of  the  pa- 
tients whom  I  have  treated  for  involuntary  seminal  dis- 
charges, had  taken  nitrate  of  potass  in  some  form  or 
other;  and  all,  without  exception,  found  themselves 
worse  afterwards.  Many  of  them  also  observed  the 
same  effects  from  preparsttion  of  squill,  and,  in  fact, 
»r  after,  and  had  never  suffered  any  injuiy  of  the  part, 
ill  other  diuretics." 

ERGOT   OF   RYE. 

This  article  is  generally  used  by  physicians  to  e.Tpe- 
lite  delivery  in  females,  by  increasing  the  action  of  the 
fomb.  It  also  acts  as  a  stimulant  to  the  male  genitals, 
by  creating  an  inflammation  of  them,  which  of  course 

E reduces   seminal  emissions.     It    is  a   dangerous   and 
ighly  injurious  di-ug. 


316 


PHOSPHORUS 

This  is  the  most  dangerous  of  all  the  articles  J  have 
ret  mentioned,  and  therefore  should  never  be  the  light 
of  for  a  moment,  especially  by  those  who  arc  not  per- 
fectly well  acquainted  with  its  action.  Its  efifects  are 
similar  to  cantharides,  only  a  great  deal  more  energetic, 
which  renders  it  so  much  more  dangerous,  for  its  inju- 
ries are  not  easily  recovered  from 


There  are  various  preparations  of  this  mineral,  which 
have  been  and  still  are  used  by  a  great  many  physicians 
in  the  treatment  of  spermatorrhoea.  In  what  respect 
they  consider  it  beneficial,  I  do  not  know,  unless  as  a 
tonic  ;  that  is  what  it  is  given  for,  no  doubt.  As  a  tonic 
for  the  system,  it  is  useful  in  the  proper  cases,  but  as 
to  any  special  benefits,  or  any  particular  influence  di- 
rectly on  the  genital  organs  it  possesses,  I  think  is  very 
indefinite  and  unsatisfactory  indeed.  Almost  every  pa- 
tient who  comes  to  consult  me,  after  having  been  under 
previous  treatment,  has  used  one  or  the  other  of  its  dif- 
ferent preparations. 


CHAPTEk  XVIII. 


THE    MECHANICAL    MEANS   ADOPTED    FOR    THE   PREVEN- 
TION  OF   SEMINAL   EMISSIONS. 

The  reader  will  have  noticed  what  some  of  my  pa- 
tients experienced,  by  compressing  the  urethra  at  dif- 
ferent places,  from  in  front  of  the  testicles,  back  as  far 
as  the  anus,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  an  erection 
of  the  penis  and  the  semen  from  being  ejected.  I  have 
also  copied  cases  from  M.  Lallemand,  Avhere  the  same 
means  had  been  used  by  his  patients.  Fournier  and 
Begin  both  had  patients  who  had  adopted  the  same 
mean?  to  prevent  the  Femen  from  escaping,  thereby,  a;* 


311 

they  thought,  effeetkig  a  cure.    The  different  rneana 
jidopted  to  attain  this  end,  I  will  now  mention. 

CASE   LII. 

A  few  years  ago  I  had  a  patient,  aged  about  thirty, 
who  had,  among  the  rest  of  his  numerous  successful 
remedies,  adopted  this  one,  and  for  a  long  time  he  sup- 
posed he  had  rid  himself  entirely  of  the  harassing  and 
dreaded  nocturnal  pollutions.  At  night,  on  going  to 
bod,  he  would  wind  a  piece  ot  tape  losely  around  the 
penis  while  it  was  in  its  natural  state.  This  would 
cause  pain,  when  the  penis  became  erect  during  the 
night — which  it  did  at  that  time  when  an  emission  took 
place — and  wake  him  from  his  sleep.  For  a  long  time 
ne  did  not  see  any  semen  escape  from  the  urethra,  and 
he  flattered  himself — though  he  had  grown  weaker  and 
thinner — he  had  hit  upon  a  very  simple  but  sure  cure. 
One  morning,  however,  he  discovered  in  the  bottom  of 
the  vessel  a  thick  mattery  substance,  which  led  him  to 
examine  the  urethra,  when  he  discovered  what  he  was 
satisfied  was  semen,  gradually  oozing  out,  after  he  had 
passed  urine.  By  examining  the  urethra  after  stool,  he 
discovered  the  same  thing,  and,  as  his  erections  had 
ceased  for  some  time,  as  well  as  all  feelings  of  venereal 
excitement,  he  knew  the  semen  was  gradually  escaping 
almost  constantly.  The  physicians  he  had  before  con- 
sulted, not  benefiting  him  in  the  least  up  to  the  time  he 
applied  his  own  remedy,  he  very  wisely  came  to  the 
conclusion  not  again  to  put  himself  under  their  charge. 
This  was  his  situation  when  he  applied  to  me.  In  a  few 
weeks  I  cured  him  of  his  pollutions,  and  in  a  year  after, 
he  was  a  married  man,  in  all  the  enjoyment  of  good 
health. 

A  great  many  of  my  patients  have  adopted  difi'erent 
means  for  the  attainment  of  the  same  object-  -that  is,  the 
28cape  of  semen.  Some  have  applied  pressure  on  the 
pereneum  by  means  of  a  pad ;  some  have  placed  grooved 
pieces  of  wood  on  each  side  of  the  penis,  with  tape 
wound  around  it ;  others  again  have  procured  rings 
to  fit  the  penis ;  but  the  result  in  every  case  has 
been  to  cause  the  semen  to  flow  into  the  bladder 
instead  of  out,  through  the  urethra,  which  would  not 


31: 


have  caused  half  as  rauch  injury  as  resulted  from  tbo 
former. 

In  Cape  37  of  M.  Lallemand's  work,  the  patient  rup- 
tured the  urethra  by  compressing  it  to  prevent  the  dis- 
charge of  semen,  and  which  was  followed  the  following 
day  by  a  discharge  resembling  a  gonorrhoea,  and  which 
he  only  succeeded  in  curing  by  cauterizing  the  canal. 
In  this  case  this  one  compression  created  so  much  irrita- 
tion as  to  immediately  cause  involuntary  emissions. 
The  strangulation  or  compression  of  the  urethra  causes 
so  much  irritation  at  the  orifi^'cs  of  the  seminal  ducts 
that  it  produces  an  inflammation  in  that  part  of  tho 
canal  which  extends  itself  either  way,  and,  finally,  if 
the  practice  is  continued  for  only  a  short  time  even, 
will  cause  a  stricture,  (and  in  some  cases  I  have  found 
as  many  as  three  in  different  parts  of  the  canal  which 
were  irritable  and  otherwise  very  bad),  in  addition  to 
the  diurnal  pollutions,  an  inflammation  of  the  prostate 
gland. 

CASE   LIII. 

In  one  of  my  cases,  a  man  of  about  forty  years  ot 
age,  was  so  severe  that  it  ulcerated  and  endangered  his 
life.  The  bladder  is  sure  to  become  involved  also,  as 
will  be  seen,  when  you  consider  the  amount  of  the  for- 
eign substance  that  is  being  constantly  thrown  into  it 
The  inflammation  of  the  bladder,  in  these  cases,  is  often 
of  the  severest  nature,  and  sometimes  requires  a  long 
time,  with  the  most  energetic  troatment,  to  restore  it  to 
its  natural  state. 

Ever3'  human  being,  with  an  intellect  sufficient  to 
enable  them  to  distinguish  between  right  and  wrong,  will 
at  once  brand  those  who  continue  to  use  such  mechani- 
cal treatment,  in  defiance,  and  regardless  of  such  unde- 
niable proofs,  of  the  certain  injury  to  those  persons  who 
may  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  accidentally  adojit  their 
mode  of  tr-jatment,  as  arrant  knaves  and  inipc  stors,  or 
ignoramuses,  that  would  do  mankind  a  better  turn  by 
Etreet-sweeping  than  the  practice  of  an  honorable  pro- 
fession. Such,  however,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  are  baso 
enough  to  advertise  appliances  of  the  above  description, 
as  great  inventions,  and  the  only  thing  that  is  capable 


o  1  0 

of  eflfecting  a  cure.  One  impostor,  to  more  easily  mis- 
lead the  ignorant,  says,  "  the  meaical  faculties  in  Eu- 
rope use  them."  The  assertion  is  a  base  falsehood; 
the  public  will  rightly  judge  such  a  character. 

When  any  person  is  so  unscrupulous  as  to  say,  that 
there  is  no  one  else  but  himself  capable  of  effecting  a 
cure,  of  whatever  complaint  he  may  mention,  it  seems 
to  me  the  public  would  be  unanimous  in  condemning 
him  as  an  impostor,  for  no  one  but  a  knave  would  have 
the  effrontery  to  arrogate  to  himself  such  superiority 
over  all  others.  There  is  a  falsehood  on  the  very  face 
of  all  such  declarations,  which  humanity  at  this  en- 
lightened daj'  should  be  able  at  once  to  discover.  The 
treatment,  remedies,  of  all  such  persons,  cause  a  thou- 
sand times  more  injury  than  the  disease  itself,  as  I 
think  these  pages  sufficiently  prove. 

M.  Lallemand  sa^'s,  "  An ti- venereal  treatment  is 
frequently  also  employed  for  patients  who  have  suffered 
oaerely  from  blennorrhagia,  and  in  a  verj'  numerous 
class  of  cases  it  produces  a  serious  increase  of  the  irrita- 
tion in  the  genital  organs,  and  causes  the  appearance  or 
exasperates  the  effects  of  involuntary  spermatic  dis- 
charges." Cases  of  this  nature  often  present  consider- 
able difficulties  of  diagnosis  ;  and  the  solution  of  these 
obscurities  is  always  of  much  importance  in  determining 
the  treatment  to  be  followed. 

Anti-venereals  are  not  the  only  therapeutic  agents 
which  produce  such  unfortunate  effects  ;  those  which  a 
blind  routine  of  practice  employs  in  cases  of  blennorr- 
hagia have  not  been  less  injurious.  Among  these  it  is 
especially  necessary  for  me  to  mention  astringent  in- 
jections, copaiba,  cubcbs,  tonics,  and  bitters,  employed 
too  soon,  or  in  extreme  dose.'«.  All  these  means  act 
more  or  less  by  exciting  the  genito-urinary  organs  ;  it 
is,  therefore,  easy  to  understand  that  their  untimely  or 
immoderate  use  must  favor  an  extension  of  the  inflam- 
mation from  the  urethra  to  the  mucous  membranes, 
which  are  continuous  with  it. 

"  Lastly,  spermatorrhoea  is  often  made  worse  by  th« 
very  means  employed  for  its  removal,  and  among  these 
may  be  ranked*  eold  baths,  ice.  tonics,  bitters,  sulphur- 
baths,  &c. 

"The  further  we  advance  the  more  plainly  we  shall 


320 

jee  how  necessary  it  is  for  the  difiFerent  forms  ot  sper- 
matorrhoea to  be  described  as  simple  affections — how 
necesj-ary  it  is  to  regard  tl  era  in  all  their  aspects,  and  to 
take  account  of  all  the  circumstances  which  assist  in 
producing  them.  In  practice  we  find  it  indispensable  to 
weigh  well  all  the  points  connected  with  a  case  of  sper- 
matorrhoea, before  deciding  on  any  diagnosis,  prognosis^ 
or  especially  on  our  treatment." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


NYMPHOMANIA  PRODUCTIVE  OF  MONOMANIA  AND  CRIME — 
MASTURBATION  PRACTICED  BY  FEMALES — REMARKS 
SHOWING  ITS  DREADFUL  EFFECTS  ON  THE  CON' 
STITUTION. 


The  following  extraordinary  case  of  Nymphomania 
was  related  to  me  by  one  of  the  most  prominent  phy 
sicians  of  this  city  : — 

Miss ,  of  a  wealthy  and  highly  respectable  family, 

residing  in  one  of  the  thousand-jjalaces  of avenue, 

attracted  my  attention  while  engaged  in  my  professional 
attentions  to  a  member  of  the  family,  by  marked  respect 
at  first ;  soon,  however,  her  manner  changed  to  sociable 
familiarity.  Yet  I  only  regarded  this  as  a  clever  display 
of  a  brilliant  mind,  highly  educated.  Subsequently,  tho 
pathetic  execution  of  several  love  songs,  sung  to  ma 
while,  apparently  by  accident,  alone  with  her,  led  me  to 
observe  her  conduct  narrowly,  which  the  lingering  ill- 
ness of  my  patient  gave  me  ample  opportunity  to  do. 
By  closely  scrutinizing  her  conduct,  I  discovered  every 
possible  means  resorted  to,  to  secure  my  company  and 
attention.-  Thus,  from  day  to  day  I  observed  the  de- 
velopment of  criminal  passions,  in  this  beautiful  crea- 
ture. Tho  slightest  accident  soon  directed  my  atten- 
tion to  the  real  cause,  not  until,  however,  after  frequent 
^nd  extravagant  demonstrations  of  a  criminal  passioui 


321 

heated  by  an    ardent    temperament,  perpetrated  the 
warmest  and  most  eloquent  declaration  of  love. 

The  affair  now  assumed  an  alarming  aspect.  I  being 
her  senior  and  a  married  man,  I  reasoned,  remonstrated, 
threatened  to  disclose  the  whole  conduct  to  her  parents, 
which  only  fanned  the  j^assions  to  a  blaze. 

The  accidental  discovery  of  the  cause  occurred  in  this 
way  : — In  going  to  my  patient's  sick-room  I  passed,  one 
warm  evening,  the  bath-room,  the  door  of  which  stood 
ajar  ;  a  glance  revealed  the  secret  of  this  strange  con- 
duct. 1  saw  this  poor  creature  sitting  in  a  bath,  which 
her  mother  told  me  that  she  too  frequently  used  as  a  cold 
sitting-bath,  asking  my  opinion  of  the  propriety. 

1  observed,  after  the  bath,  her  conduct  was  invariably 
modest.  The  cause  of  this  strunge  conduct  then  was 
inflammation  and  excessive  irritation  of  the  genital 
organs. 

After  a  consultation  with  the  parents,  I  explained  to 
her,  her  situation,  which  I  was  always  compelled  to  do, 
immediately  after  the  cold  hip-bath,  to  prevent  the 
immodest  conduct  of  the  absolutely  insane  young  lady. 

This  then,  sir,  is  the  case  for  which  1  wrote  you  the 
note  asking  your  plan  of  treatment,  which,  I  am  happy 
to  acknowledge,  speedily  restored  my  unfortunate  patient 
to  perfect  health,  and  who  is  so  grateful  to  you,  as  I 
deemed  it  my  duty  to  tell  her  confidentially  that  you 
was  the  savior  of  her  virtue,  of  her  health,  and  of  her 
happiness. 

She  begs  you  will  accept  the  accompanying  $100  note, 
with  the  wish  that  j'ou  will  give  her  the  opportunity  to 
make  her  personal  acknowledgments. 

Yours,  truly,  M.  D., 

Bleeckerst.,  N.  V. 

Nciv  York,  June  11,  '52. 
Dr.  Larmont: 

Dear  Sir, — In  answer  to  your  request  of  the  publi 
cation  in  3'our  popular  work,  of  the  interesting  case  of 
nymphomania,  for  which  I  consulted  you,  1  am  happy 
to  inform  you  that  the  young  lady  feels  so  greatly  in- 
debted, that  for  the  sake  of  humanity  and  in  considera- 
tion of  your  invaluable  services,  she  cheerfully  consenta 
to  your  request- 


322 

It  is  not  necessary,  of  course,  to  ask  to  ctnceal  every- 
thing that  would  lead  to  suspicion  who  our  patient  is, 
as  the  delicacy  of  a  charming,  talented  and  admired 
young  lady,  would  suffer  the  deepest  mortiQcation,  al' 
though  her  conduct  was  the  direct  consequence  of  jjliy- 
sicul  disease.     Accept  my  kindest  regards, 

Yours,  truly,  M.  D., 

Bleeckcr  st.,  N.  Y. 

This  case  is  one  only  of  a  number  which  has  passed 
under  my  own  knowledge.  The  complaint  produced 
what  we  might  call  a  species  of  monomania.  Whether 
the  ardent  temperament !  an  over-healthy  or  very  vigo- 
rous constitution  !  ascarides  or  worms  in  the  rectum ! 
or  masturbation,  is  the  cause,  the  result  is  the  same. 
Such — yes,  many  cases  like  this,  do  exist,  and  parents 
and  guardians  should  be  able  to  obviate  a  criminal 
result,  by  arranging  a  proper  marriage ;  or,  if  pro- 
duced by  any  foreign  excitant,  as  masturbation,  or  tho 
troublesome  and  tormenting  little  worms,  the  experi- 
enced physician  in  the  cure  of  these  complaints,  should 
be  consulted,  without  a  day's  delay.  By  adopting  these 
timely  remedies,  they  may  not  only  save  their  child  or 
relative  from  an  ignommious  and  horrible  end,  but 
themselves  from  everlasting  disgrace. 

Onanism  particularly  exists  among  females  ;  and 
that  too,  to  a  very  alarming  extent.  It  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible for  an  unprofessional  person  to  conceive  the  long 
train  of  ills  it  produces,  it  is  a  knowledge  of  this 
fact,  as  I  have  stated  in  the  preface  to  this  work,  that 
induced  me  to  present  to  the  world  truths  which  will 
serve  as  a  saving  monitor  to  the  unsuspecting  of  both 
sexes. 

We  address  these  few  pages  to  mothers  and  guardians, 
with  the  two-fold  view  of  furnishing  them  with  the 
means  of  preserving  the  morals  of  their  daughters,  and 
of  sparing  them  the  pain  and  sorrow  of  seeing  them 
wither  and  perish  at  an  age  whvii  they  ought  to  bo  tho 
ornament  of  their  domestic  circle,  and  enjoy  health  and 
happiness.  This  life-destroying  habit,  will  enable  pa- 
rents and  guardians  of  joutli,  to  recognize  by  number- 
less symptoms,  the  gradual  disease  which  is  hurrying 


323 


them  to  the  tomb  ;  and  I  must  reiterate  a  pevious  asser- 
tion, that  I  cannot  but  hope  this  work  will  be  the  mcana 
of  saving  many  from  a  lingering  suicide.  Let  every 
mother,  lather,  and' guardian,  therefore,  read  this  work, 
and  they  can  learn  from  it,  whether  their  children  or 
charges  are  safe  from  this  vice,  or  have  strayed  from 
the  paths  of  health  and  chastity. 

Have  you  ever  seen  a  lovely  flower,  when  the  least 
breath  would  scatter  its  leaves  to  the  winds  of  heaven, 
md  yet  retain  its  original  loveliness  1  Such  a  flower  is 
the  innocent  child  which  is  on  a  brink  so  perilous,  that, 
unless  warned  at  once,  is  sure  to  perish  and  leave  sor- 
rowing relatives  to  mourn  its  loss. 

Health  and  beauty  are  not  the  only  blessings  to  be  pre- 
served !  All  moral  feeling,  all  proper  sentiments,  the 
happiest  gift  of  intellect,  and  every  hope  of  happiness 
will  surely  be  destroyed. 

These  individuals  who  yield  themselves  up  to  the  en- 
joyment of  solitary  pleasure,  to  secret  pernicious  habits, 
soon  exhibit  more  or  less  the  symptoms  of  tabes  dorsalis 
—a  species  of  consumption.  At  first  they  are  not  trou- 
bled with  fever ;  and,  although  they  may  still  preserve 
their  appetite,  their  bodies  waste  away ;  walking  par- 
ticularly wearies  them  and  produces  profuse  perspira- 
tion, headache,  ringing  in  the  ears,  derangement  of  the 
serves  and  brain,  and  terminating  with  stupidity.  The 
(tomach  becomes  deranged,  the  patient  is  pale,  dull  and 
indolent ;  their  eyes  are  hollowed,  their  bodies  thin, 
.heir  legs  can  no  longer  sustain  them ;  they  are  totally 
flnhinged,  incapable  of  any  exertion,  and  in  many  eases 
ittacked  with  palsy.  The  weakness  and  constitutional 
.rijury  thus  produced  are  the  reasons  why  such  patients 
!)ear  less  easily  those  diseases  which  all  are  subject  to. 
The  chest  particularly  becomes  aff"ected,  indigestion 
•somes  on,  the  most  robust  girls  are  soon  rendered  weak  ; 
ind  sometimes  a  slow  fever,  a  raj^id  consumption,  or 
apoplexy,  soon  terminates  the  scene. 

Such  are  some  of  the  evils  produced  by  solitary  im- 
prudence— evils  which  have  attracted  the  attention  of 
some  of  the  most  celebrated  physicians  of  antiquity,  as 
Hippocrates,  Coden,  Celsus,  which  I  have  already 
quoted  at  length,  Areteus,  Atius,  &c.  Other  physicians, 
who  have  enjoyed  great  celebrity  in  modern  times,  con- 


firm  the  observations  of  the  ancients,  and  increase  the 
frightful  catalogue  of  ilft  which  the  medical  writers  x>f 
antiquity  had  described.  Men  of  such  celebrity  as 
Sanctorious,  Lommius,  Ht'ffman,  45oerhave,  Van  Swie- 
ton,  Kloehof,  Mechel,  HuUer,  and  Harvey,  all  of  whom 
have  described  in  vivid  and  fearful  colors  the  diseases 
of  those  who  are  addicted  to  solitary  vices,  must  con- 
vince the  most  skeptical.  Hofleland ,  speaking  of  young 
girls  who  are  the  victims  of  this  fearful  vice,  says — "  She 
is  a  withered  rose,  a  tree  whose  bloom  is  dried  up ;  she 
is  a  walking  spectre." 

"How  many  persons,"  exclaims  the  venerable  Portal, 
a  physician  who  published  *  Observations  on  Pulmonary 
Consumption,'  *'  have  been  the  victims  of  their  unhappy 

Eassions  ?  Medical  men  every  day  meet  with  those  who, 
y  this  means,  are  rendered  idiotic,  or  so  enervated, 
both  in  body  and  mind,  that  they  drag  out  a  miserable 
existence  ;  others  perisli  with  marasmus,  and  too  many 
die  of  a  real  pulmonary  consumption." 

We  have  the  most  indubitably  awful  proof  under  our 
own  eyes  every  week,  by  reading  the  deaths  reported  in 
the  different  cities,  Koifice  the  preponderance  of  deaths 
of  those  over  ten  years,  from  consumption,  apoplexy, 
marasmus,  and  epilepsy,  and  you  must  be  convinced 
there  is  some  unknown  secret  cause,  to  hurl  so  many 
into  eternity  every  day,  from  these  diseases. 

In  a  work  upon  the  terrible  malady  of  Kickets,  the 
writer  says,  while  speaking  on  a  particular  form,  that 
young  persons  who  yield  tiiemselves  up  to  tlie  seduction 
of  solitary  pleasures  are  often  the  subjects  of  the  disease, 
and  he  cites  a  number  of  cases  which  came  under  his 
own  observation.  Among  them,  he  mentions  that  of  a 
young  female  of  seventeen  who  died  suddenly  of  tliem, 
and  which  v/ere  brought  ou  by  masturbation.  These 
are  his  words — "  I  saw  a  young  girl  of  seventeen,  of 
puny  stature,  but  who  became  so  rapidly  curved,  that 
m  six  months  she  was  quite  hurhp-backed.  The  chest 
was  thrust  in  at  the  base  of  the  breast-bone ;  there  was 
a  complete  hollow  at  tiie  region  of  the  stomach,  while 
the  belly  protruded," 

A  justly  celebrated  physician  of  Lyons,  who  gave 
himself  up  for  many  years  to  deeds  of  benevolence  and 
humanity,  the  sensible  author  of  a  work  entitled  *  Mo* 


325 

dium  of  the  Heart,'  M.  A.  Petit,  seein,^  the  number  of 
maladies  whicSi  the  indulgence  of  solitary  habits  pro- 
duced, thought  it  was  necessary  t«  erect  a  monument  to 
me  of  the  victims  of  this  vice,  not  only  to  avert  its 
danger,  but  to  attest  its  power  in  the  production  ot 
pulmonary  consumption.  In  his  preface  he  says — "  Let 
It  be  known  that  pulmonary  consumption,  whose  horri- 
ble ravages  in  Europe  ouglit  to  give  the  alarm  to  all 
governments  has  drawn  from  this  very  source  its  fatal 
activity."  And  then,  in  the  most  eloquent  verses,  he 
speaks  of  the  last  moments  of  an  unfortunate  victim 
whom  he  himself  witnessed,  and  whom  the  tomb  of 
Mont  Cindre  had  closed  upon,  while  yet  in  the  very 
spring  of  life.  This  example  is  one  which  has  occurred 
in  our  own  times,  and  the  tomb  is  placed  on  one  of  the 
fertile  mountains  which  border  the  Saone  on  the  north- 
west, in  approaching  Lyons,  and  the  unfortunate  %ictim 
who  has  there  found  her  last  resting-place  is  not  yet,  in 
all  probability,  become  part  of  that  dust  which  has  re- 
ceived her.  Her  miserable  error  had  doubtless  been  of 
too  long  duration ;  the  blow  her  constitution  had  re- 
ceived, was  too  deep. 

Baron  Boyer,  in  his  '  Treatise  on  Surgical  Diseases,' 
believed  that  this  constitutional  injury  may  even  be 
prolonged  to  old  age,  when  this  kind  of  abuse  allows  its 
victim  to  attain  it ;  and  that  is  a  secondary  cause  of 
many  of  those  cases  of  dry  gangrene,  which  are  observed 
at  that  period  of  life. 

These  solitary  habits  in  mauy  females  produce  a 
swelling  of  the  neck,  from  the  force  and  frequency  of 
those  convulsions  which  so  often  follow  the  repetition  of 
this  imprudent  act,  as  well  as  by  the  arrest  of  blood 
which  it  occasions  in  the  principal  vessels  of  the  neck, 
in  the  same  way  as  is  observed  in  epileptic  patients. 
The  complexion  assumes  a  yellow  tint  in  some,  while 
others  find  their  skin  become  covered  with  scurf. 

Professor  Kichard  reports  in  his  '  Chirurgical  Noso- 
graphy,'  a  very  remarkable  example  of  the  power  of 
this  cause  in  the  production  of  eruptions : — "A  lady  had 
at  the  same  time  this  pernicious  habit  and  an  eruption 
of  blotches.  She  was  advised  to  discontinue  the  practice ; 
Bhe  did  so,  and  they  disappeared.  She  again  took  up 
the  habit ;   the  eruption  again  made  its  appearance ' 


326 

her  reason  again  taught  her  the  error  of  her  ways,  and 
she  once  more  conquered  the  penchant,  and  she  was.uever 
again  trouhled  with  those  blotches  which  had  so  dis- 
figured her." 

C>omc  persons  are  troubled  with  cramp  in  the  stomach 
and  pains  in  the  back ;  some  will  have  pains  in  the  loins 
and  kidneys  ;  others  sutler  from  pains  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  nose,  in  the  summit  and  back  part  of  the  head,  in 
the  groins,  as  well  as  in  all  the  limbs  ;  lucorrhoea  or 
whites,  acrid  and  irritating  discharges  of  different  kinds, 
fluxes,  hemorrhage  of  the  womb.  While  some  are 
aflBicted  for  the  remainder  of  their  life  by  relaxation  and 
fall  of  this  organ — pains,  at  first  vague  and  undefined, 
then  fixed — sometimes  dull,  at  other  times  excruciating — 
are  in  others  but  the  signs  of  scirrhus  or  cancer  of  the 
womb  itself.  The  belly  becomes  enlarged,  hard  and 
distended  ;  the  eyes  are  surrounded  with  a  leaden-hued 
circle  ;  the  enamel  of  the  teeth  assumes  a  grayish  white 
color,  and  no  longer  presents  that  exquisite  polish  nor 
that  ivory  tint  which  has  caused  them  to  be  compared 
to  pearls  encased  in  roses. 

A  number  of  painful  ulcers  are  sometimes  found  on 
the  tongue  and  the  interior  of  the  mouth.  A  lady  had 
abandoned  herself  to  all  the  intoxicating  enjoyment  of 
solitariness.  When  she  gave  way  to  these  excesses  her 
mouth  was  filled  with  ulcers  of  the  most  distressing 
kind  ;  when  she  ceased  from  these  imprndent  acts, 
these  ulcers  disappeared.  The  flesh  loses  its  solidity, 
and  becomes  flaccid,  paleness  ensues,  wasting  wrinkles, 
inaptitude  for  all  kinds  of  work  or  exercise,  take  the 
place  of  the  freshness,  the  soundness,  the  grace  and  ac- 
tivity of  the  body  ;  the  bosom,  Avhich  by  its  exquisitely 
developed  beauty,  shows  that  the  age  of  puberty  and 
love  has  arrived — the  bosom,  wliose  fullness  in  the 
young  mother  shows  that  it  incloses  an  abundance  of 
that  nourishment  so  necessary  to  the  tender  state  of 
man's  infancy  ;  in  those  who  yield  to  this  habit,  ex- 
hibits nothing  but  the  meagre  outline  of  what  it  should 
be,  and  cries  aloud  the  truth — speaks  of  nothing  but 
eteniity.  If  suoh  persons  enjoy  health,  they  must  lose 
it  ;  if  they  are  attacked  with  illness,  their  restoration  to 
health  is  diflicult ;  if  they  are  so  fortunate  as  to  recover 
they  are  ever  liable  to  bo  again  assailed.    Proper  habits 


32T 

are  no  less  necessary  for  a  perfect  restoration  to  health 
than  proper  sleep,  exercise,  and  pure  air. 

Solitary  vicious  habits  have  great  influence  in  develop' 
ing  scrofulous  diseases.  The  white  swellings  which  ap- 
pear in  various  parts  of  the  body,  and  filled  with  a 
white  humor,  inclosed  in  a  membraneous  bag,  formed 
from  the  muscular  tuniclcs,  are  very  common :  and  wo 
cannot  doubt  that  this  disorder,  which  is  a  species  of 
scrofula,  owes  its  increase  to  the  misfortunes  that  ai-e  in- 
separable from  war  and  its  attendant  privations.  But 
what  ravages  has  it  not  made  among  persons  who  have 
destroyed  their  constitution  by  the  deadly  incentives  of  a 
vicious  solitude  !  The  hospitals  in  Europe  teem  with 
subjects  worn  out  by  the  suppuration  of  these  tumors, 
who  owe  their  frightful  fate  to  this  habitual  vice.  The 
degeneracy  of  morals,  the  absence  of  principle,  and  the 
contagion  of  example,  united  with  unavoidable  priva- 
tions, have  multiplied  the  forms  of  scrofulous  swellings, 
which  were  very  rare,  and  of  which  the  cure  is  attended 
with  the  greatest  difficulty,  in  proportion  as  these  com- 
bining causes  continue. 

Human  nature  will  always  be  human  nature  ;  and 
necessarily  will  be  mixed  up  with  both  vice  and  virtue. 
Was  not  this  vice  common  among  the  Jews  since  it  so 
forcibly  drew  down  the  attention  of  their  Legislator, 
who  felt  himself  compelled,  in  order  to  restrain  its  pro- 
gress, to  bring  home  to  the  imagination  of  his  people 
the  terrible  example  of  Onan,  mentioned  in  the  first  part 
of  this  work  1 

The  celebrated  Joubert,  chancellor  of  the  University 
of  Montpelier,  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  com- 
plained also,  in  his  Treatise  on  Popular  Errors,  of  the 
calamities  that  this  very  vice  entailed  on  its  votaries  of 
both  sexes.  Finally,  is  it  not  true  in  this  nineteenth 
century  that  many  dissertations  are  published  on  this 
same  subject "? 

The  vicious  (solitary)  habits  then  are,  beyond  a 
doubt,  unhappily  too  common  ;  but  who  can  say,  they 
were  less  so  in  by-gone  times  \  But,  however  that  may 
be,  there  is  no  abatement  in  their  eflFect.  For  if  we 
except  poisons  and  some  few  frightful  maladies,  the 
human  system  has  no  greater  cause  of  destruction  to 
dread  than  their  sinful  secret  vices. 


828 

Sydenham  says,  "  The  organs  of  respiration  are  tlia 
w^eakesfc  of  ail  those  belonging  to  the  human  race  ;  two- 
thirds  of  mankind  die  of  diseases  of  the  lungs  ;  and  the 
most  common  period  in  which  young  persons  resort  to 
these  vicious  habits  is  precisely  that  wherein  the  chest 
exhibits  the  greatest  susceptibility.  There  is,  more- 
over, a  species  of  consumption  to  which  women  are 
greatly  exposed  by  the  very  nature  of  their  constitution, 
each  as  tuberculose  and  lymphatic  consumption." 


CHAPTER  XX. 


f.IFE,   WHA.T   IS   1t1 — IT  IS   MERE   EXISTENCE   WITHOUT 
HEALTH. 

Poets  have  described  life  to  be  the  dream  of  a  sha- 
dow— a  species  of  flight ;  have  feigned  that  the  gods 
did  not  make  man  a  present  of  life,  but  that  they  rather 
sold  it  to  him.  Our  life  may  be  truly  said  to  be  the 
dream  of  a  shadow  ;  but  this  shadow  has  feeling— is 
endowed  with  understanding,  and  by  acting  wisely,  the 
dream  may  be  rendered  a  long  and  happy  one. 

That  our  existence  is  fugitive,  the  rapid  succession  of 
years,  the  flight  from  infancy  to  youth,  from  youth  to 
old  age,  and  from  old  age  to  the  dust  that  follows  it, 
abundantly  testify.  But  we  are  in  possession  of  a  means 
of  giving  to  this  varying  existence — which  has  so  mani- 
fest a  tendency  to  its  own  destruction— a  more  fixed 
character  ;  and  that  is  moderation,  the  source  of  all 
virtue  and  of  all  happiness.  The  Author  of  our  being, 
in  granting  us  life,  appears  indeed  to  have  surrounded 
it  with  numerous  duties  ;  but  duties  are  not  burthen- 
Bcme,  when  those  by  whom  they  are  imposed  furnish 
their  tributaries,  at  the  same  time  an  inexhaustible 
treasure,  by  which  they  may  be  freed  from  them.  With 
this  treasure  we  are  well  acquainted  ;  it  is  deposited 
within  us  ;  we  are  allowed  free  acccs*  to  it,  and  indeed, 
are  enjoined  to  draw  from  it ;  and  if  mankind  would 
»nly  make  use  of  it,  if  they  wouM  boldly  render  them- 


329 

aelves  subservient  to  their  reason,  they  would  soon 
discover  that  nature  was  really  desirous  that  they 
should  be  happy. 

It  must  nevertheless  be  admitted,  that  if  Heaven  haa 
granted  to  man  the  splendid  gift  of  reason,  it  has  at 
the  same  time  rendered  it  very  necessary  for  him.  No 
other  animated  being  is  subject  to  such  numerous 
diseases,  none  die  from  such  variety  of  causes,  and  none 
bear  within  them  so  many  germs  of  evil  as  himself.  li 
he  knows  not  how  to  use  those  means  which  have  been 
bestowed  upon  him  for  preserving  himself  from  them. 

But  if  we  may  look  upon  life  as  the  dream  of  a 
shadow — if  it  be  no  more  than  a  fugitive  existence — if 
we  may  in  some  degree  saj',  not  that  the  Supreme  Being 
has  sold  life  to  us — for  that  would  be  impious,  if  taken 
literally — but  it  would  still  seem  that  it  may  be  so  said 
of  those,  and  that  dearly  sold  too,  who  have  given 
themselves  up  as  victims  of  a  solitary  vice. 

Independently  of  the  disposition  of  the  human  species 
towards  so  many  different  affections,  each  individual 
has  a  particular  tendency  to  one  or  more  kinds  of  de- 
struction, by  the  unequal  division  of  strength,  whereby 
the  organs  of  which  they  are  endowed ;  and  the  truth 
of  this  is  daily  attested  in  our  intercourse  with  the 
world,  when  we  hear  that  such  and  such  a  one  has  a 
weak  stomach,  a  delicate  chest,  &c. ;  and  as  the  weakest 
organs  are  the  first  to  suffer  from  the  influence  of  the 
causes  of  disease,  and  as  there  can  be  none  more  power- 
ful than  evil  practices,  it  may  be  safely  predicted  of  all 
persons  yielding  to  the  delirium  of  solitary  vice,  the  kind 
of  malady  their  imprudence  will  bring  upon  them.  In 
vain  it  wiU  be  believed,  that  we  do  not  bear  within  our- 
selves the  "beau  ideal"  of  human  organization;  and 
even  though  so  extreme  a  favor  might  have  been 
granted  to  some  indi^dduals,  it,  nevertheless,  cannot  be 
contended  that  such  a  perfect  organization  is  unaltera- 
ble. Even  Thetis  herself  could  not  render  AchiUes  in- 
vulnerable throughout  the  whole  of  his  body. 

Bickat,  in  his  General  Anatomy,  advances  a  similar 
opinion,  and  which  has  now  for  a  long  time  been  esta- 
blished. He  says,  "  Life  is  a  great  exercise,  which 
keeps  by  desires  the  various  organs  in  motion,  and 
which  leads  at  length  to  their  repose — this  repose  is 


330 

death.  But  each  organ  arrircs  there  more  or  less  soon, 
according  to  the  desire  of  strength  with  which  it  is  in- 
vested— proportioned  to  the  greater  or  less  disposition  to 
exhaust  it — in  the  course  of  this  great  exercise." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


MASTURBATION  PRODUCES  EFFECTS   UPON  THE  FEMALE  i 
EASILY  DISCERNED  BY  THE  GENERALITY  OF  PEOPLE. 

Persons  who  are  devoted  to  secret  vicious  habits, 
whether  they  be  characterized  by  the  delicacy  or  the 
too  great  activity  of  the  nerves,  may  rest  assured  that 
they  will  become  epileptic,  subject  to  fits,  to  palpitations, 
and  all  other  nervous  affections. 

Any  one  who  may  observe  a  woman  who  has  not  been 
irreproachable  in  such  secret  practices,  of  an  apathetic 
charactea,  weak  and  languid  appearance  and  pale  com- 
plexion, you  may  be  assured  that  sne  will  become  idi- 
otic. Mankind  cannot  imagine  the  effect  these  prac- 
tices have  on  the  present  generation,  or  the  destructive 
influences  and  consequences  that  will  ensue  to  those  in 
future. 

If  pale  and  sickly  children  could  only  be  preserved  in 
their  early  innocence — if  those  whose  parents  have  fallen 
victims  to  pulmonary  complaints,  could  only  be  kept 
^haste — if  persons  who  are  subject  to  consumption,  would 
only  loftd  a  life  of  purity,  we  should  soon  discover  that 
Buch  disorders  of  the  chest  are  neither  so  hereditary  nor 
infectious  as  they  are  supposed  to  be.  If  the  innocent 
offspring  that  I  have  cured  of  venereal  affections,  knew 
the  cause  of  their  infirmities  and  sufferings — their 
tnaimings  through  their  whole  lives — they  would  curse 
— (and  I  think  properly  so,  too) — the  very  beings — the 
very  parents — who,  as  instruments  in  the  hands  of  Di- 
vine Providence,  gave  them  their  existence. 

My  extensive  experience,  in  treating  all  classes,  ages 
and  sexes,  for  venereal  affections,  has  not  only  convinced 
we,  but  has    proven,   that  a  large  mojority  of   th« 


ool 

scrofulous  diseases  have  been  directly  produced  by  the 
parents  or  ancestors  having  had  venerciial  diseases.^  and 
did  not — though  they  may  have  supposed  so — have  the 
poison  entirely  eradicated  from  the  system.  All  per- 
sons, then,  who  have  ever  had  any  disease  of  a  venereal 
character,  should  know — by  applying  to  me — whether 
anything  of  the  kind  is  still  lurking  in  their  system, 
awaiting  an  opportunity — from  some  peculiarly  exciting 
cause — to  show  its  hydra  head.  All  judicious  persons 
will  certainly  not  lose  any  time  in  attending  to  it. 

Many  of  the  offspring  of  venerea.1  affected  parents,  die 
in  infancy  ;  many  are  dead  when  born  ;  but  those  who 
do  linger,  and  drag  out  a  short  and  painful  existence, 
merely  jwstpone  their  existence  a  little  longer,  only  to 
descend  at  a  later  period  to  an  early  and  disgusting 
death. 

I  will  hasten  from  this  painful  subject  to  one  more  in 
consonance  with  chastity,  and  refinement  of  the  feelings 
nature  intended  us  to  be  possessed  of. 

Every  animated  thing — the  plant,  the  brute,  the  hu- 
man species — are  born  delicate  and  fragile,  and  grow  up 
in  strength  ;  the  tender  shoot  of  the  oak  becomes  a  hardy 
tree  ;  the  weakest  infant — if  its  source  is  healthy — a 
soldier,  a  laborer,  a  vigorous  man — if  nothing  be  done  to 
prevent  it.  If  nature  sleeps,  languishes,  or  is  deceived, 
it  knows  when  to  awaken  and  retrieve  each  error — if  it 
be  not  incessantly  thwarted  or  crushed — no  matter  by 
what  means.  The  Author  of  nature  has  traced  out  its 
steps,  has  dictated  its  laws  ;  and  a  premature  death,  the 
melancholy  con.sequence  of  evil  practices,  is  only  one  of 
the  rules  of  his  immortal  code  ;  let  them,  therefore,  bo 
engraved  on  the  heart. 

How  much  it  were  to  be  desired,  that  persons  would 
not  so  frequentl}'  despise  themselves  in  the  world,  and 
that  they  would  not  invariably  attribute  to  family  dis- 
ease, or  the  contagious  nature  of  consumptions,  that 
which  is  traceable  to  vicious  habits  alone.  Persons  bom 
of  healthy  parents,  of  sound  constitutions,  and  who 
themselves  are  quite  robust,  and  always  breathing  a  fine 
air,  find  the  chest  affected  by  their  evil  habits,  and  the 
grave  opening  before  them,  long  before  their  time  ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  they  on  whom  heaven  seema 
only  to  have  bestowed  a  very  short  life,  are  preserv<'d, 


332 

by  a  purity  of  eoiidnct,  to  the  limits  of  extreme  old 
age. 

Far  then  from  asserting  that  persons  afflicted,  as  pre- 
viously mentioned,  are  to  be  despised  or  blamed ;  1  think, 
on  the  contrary,  that  with  some  (as  I  have  there  stated.) 
it  is  more  the  result  of  an  unhappy  destiny  than  merited ; 
and  that  every  motive  of  benevolence  urges  to  pity,  and 
a  relief  of  their  condition.  The  blame  we  may  feel  dis- 
posed to  attach  to  some  persons  for  their  bad  formation. 
Vou  will  remember,  I  have  mentioned  that  rickets  aro 
caused  by  masturbation — can  only  be  addressed  with 
justice,  to  those  whose  childhood  and  youth  have  not 
always  been  free  from  reproach.  It  is  easy  to  distin- 
guish between  those  whom  we  ought  only  to  pity,  and 
those  whom  we  ought,  at  the  same  time,  to  blame. 
The  former  have  the  head  large,  relatively  to  the  rest 
of  the  body,  and  the  arms  long — as  it  were,  drawn  out — 
the  latter  do  not  show  these  peculiarities.  They  first 
are  usually  gay  and  lively,  while  the  second,  on  the  con- 
trary, combine  with  their  deformity  extreme  stupidity 
and  inertness.  All  functions,  except  respiration,  are 
well  discharged  by  the  former  ;  with  the  others,  all  are 
accomplished  badly  and  languidly.  These  always  ap- 
pear to  be  laboring  under  a  severe  malady,  and  are  in- 
capable of  any  toil ;  while  those  are  wholly  free  from 
this  appearance,  and  daily  engage  in  occupations  more 
or  less  difficult — in  study,  in  the  cultivation  of  science, 
and  the  practice  of  the  arts. 

What  will  become  of  a  lady's  beauty  when  her  health 
is  deeply  impaired  1  It  can  only  bloom  and  disappear 
like  the  withered  form  and  faded  color  of  a  flower  nipped 
in  the  bud  ;  or,  to  make  use  of  another  comparison,  like 
the  ruins  of  a  temple  destroyed  by  profane  hands.  It 
loses  the  elegance  and  majesty  which  delighted  the 
imagination  and  inspired  respect  long  before  years  and 
decay  would  have  impaired  those  qualities.  A  young 
woman  is  this  temple,  and  must  expect  to  lose  all  the 
attributes  of  beauty,  when  once  she  gives  herself  up  to 
this  most  destructive  of  all  passions.  The  growth  of 
the  body,  the  development  of  the  figure,  all  grace  and 
freshne.-<s,  will  disappear  ;  for  this  error  spares  no  churms. 
No  doubt  the  words  of  a  celebrated  physician,  respecting 
a  votary  of  this  solitary  vice,  wiU  recur  to  every  mind — 


PLATE  25. 


%.75 


^^.76 


%77 


Fiq.  78 


335 


'She  ia  a  tree  withered  while  blossotning — a  perfect 
walking  skeleton."  , 

What  a  (lififerent  picture  those  young  females  pre- 
sent who  display  so  agreeably  all  the  charms  of  their 
tender  and  admired  sex.  Consider  a  girl  at  the  ago 
when  the  attractions  of  youth  succeed  the  grace  of  in- 
fancy ;  happy  is  the  maiden  who  preserves  her  primitive 
purity,  when,  like  an  unknown  lake,  in  the  bosom  of  a 
lovely  country,  her  imagination  as  yet  has  only  reflected 
the  heaven  above  and  the  verdure  and  the  flowers 
around.  She  appears  to  units  in  her  person  the  rarest 
charms  of  all  the  universe. 

If  man  be  the  Lord  of  creation,  snch  a  female  is 
surely  the  queen.  But  this  grace,  and  this  fresh  and 
fair  complexion,  are  never  to  be  met  with  in  persons 
eonsumed  by  disease  ;  and  these  portraits,  presented  to 
us,  under  the  name  of  goddesses,  are  those  of  persona 
who  have  really  existed.  Thus  Fontaine,  when  he 
covered  with  roses  and  lilies  the  Venus  whom  Homer, 
three  thousand  years  before,  had  begirt  with  the  en- 
chanting zone,  was  no  doubt  thinking  of  the  young  and 
virtuous  La  Sabliere.  And  probably  Virgil  was  in- 
debted to  some  princess  of  the  court  of  Augustus  for  the 
majestic  air  which  excites  our  admiration  in  his  Dido. 

Can  health  and  grace  exist  without  innocence  and 
modesty  1  Chastity  is  the  daughter  of  Modesty,  and 
therefore  health  cannot  long  be  enjoyed  without  chas- 
tity. Socrates  said  long  ago,  that  a  handsome  body 
gave  promise  of  a  noble  soul.  Some  ancient  philoso- 
phers, have  supposed  the  soul  to  be  a  kind  of  divinity 
inclosed  in  our  bodies ;  certainly  the  sweetest  rays  of 
the  Divinity  are  found  nowhere  so  conspicuously  as  on 
the  brow  of  a  woman  worthy  the  esteem  and  confidence 
of  her  husband.  One  of  the  wisest  men  says,  "  The 
beautiful  of  every  description  is  beautiful  of  itself.  It 
exists  in  and  of  itself;  praise  forms  no  part  of  it.  Thua 
nothing  becomes  better  or  worse  from  the  opinions  of 


386 
CHAPTER  XXII. 

CAUSES   OF   FEMALE   PROSTITUTION. 

The  same  remarks  that  the  reader  has  found  in  the 
previous  pages  of  this  work,  relating  to  the  false  mo- 
desty heretofore  exi.sting  on  the  subject  of  masturbjation, 
and  which  has  stifled  the  horrid  truth  relating  to  it, 
from  sooner  having  become  known  to  the  world  at 
large,  is  applicable  in  the  fullest  sense  to  the  awful  sub- 
ject now  before  us 

It  is,  like  masturbation,  one  of  those  subjects  so 
fenced  and  hedged  around  by  ignorance  and  false  mo- 
desty, that  the  very  silence  and  darkness  allowed  to 
pervade  and  surround  the  disease,  has  continued  to 
propagate  and  augment  its  ravages.  The  least  fa- 
miliarity with  the  customs  and  habits  of  the  city,  or  a 
knowledge  of  a  tithe  of  the  haunts  of  vice,  will  reveal 
the  fact,  that  tens  of  thousands  are  living  amongst  us 
by  open  and  private  prostitution.  What  might  be  con- 
sidered as  gross  satire  and  superfincd  didactic  criticism, 
might  be  translated  and  published,  and  the  community 
could  not  deny  that  it  was  a  fair  description  of  every- 
day life,  as  it  exists  in  the  pseudo  moral  atmosphere 
of  almost  every  city  and  country. 

The  very  virtuous  and  ignorant  may  occasionally 
bear  of  some  shocking  case  evolved  in  the  horrid  dens 
which  abound  in  the  largo  cities,  or  seeing  some  of  their 
bloated  and  disgusting  inmates,  may  be  thankful,  with 
complacency,  that  the  vice  is  confined  to  those  localities, 
and  to  such  self-degraded  objects  ;  and  as  a  writer  in  a 
daily  journal  said,  "If  victims  be  necessary  for  such  a 
Moloch,  would  thnt  such  were  the  case." 

While  such  a  horrid  evil  exists,  is  it  not  surprising 
that  no  remedy  has  been  found  and  applied  as  a  cure  and 
preventive  1  Those  females,  who,  in  their  conventions 
advocate  the  rights  and  claims  of  their  sex,  with  an  elo- 
quence equal  to  the  efforts  of  the  sterner  sex  in  their  po- 
litical struggles,  have  entirely  overlooked  this  subject, 
yet  it  more  vitally  concerns  their  honor  and  the  welfare 
of  hiannnity. 

Mr.  Fowler  has  battled,  and  done  well,  with  this  mon- 


337 

8ter,  whose  victims  are  iunumerable,  and  I  learn  has 
been  ably  assisted  by  Mr.  Wells,  Air.  Woodbridge  and 
Mrs.  Gove,  with  a  degree  of  womanly  courage  and 
modesty,  which  cannot  be  too  highly  praised.  1  have 
no  doubt  others  would  have  joined  in  the  noble  work, 
but  for  the  erroneous  idea,  the  more  publicity  you  give 
to  the  subject,  the  more  would  be  its  increase  and  dis- 
semination. It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  this  argu- 
ment will  be  forever  refuted,  before  many  more  victims 
are  sacrificed  from  its  belief,  for  I  am  pained  to  say  the 
range  of  this  could  hardly  be  extended  any  further  than 
it  is  at  the  present  time. 

There  is  too  much  sickly  sentimentality  afloat,  in  re- 
gard to  the  unfortunate  females  who  prowl  about  tho 
streets  of  cities  in  search  of  their  prey.  There  are  un- 
doubtedly among  them  those  who  are  the  victims  of 
false  promises,  and  of  vile,  heartless,  and  accursed  se- 
duction :  but  the  numbei-,  I  think,  is  comparatively 
small.  It  is,  in  fact,  very  seldom  that  men  or  women 
descend  at  one  step  from  virtue  to  the  lowest  condition 
in  vice.  Persons  in  the  height  of  passion,  will  slay  their 
oppressors  or  adversaries  ;  but  the  mind  requires  to  be 
familiarized  with  guilt,  and  the  walls  of  virtue  require 
to  be  sapped  and  undermined,  before  they  tumble  to 
pieces.  Men  neither  become  drunkards,  robbers,  for- 
gers, nor  counterfeiters,  all  of  a  sudden.  They  have 
trained  and  habituated  their  minds  to  crime  before  its 
commi-ssion.  Their  fall  may  appear  rapid,  but  if  the 
truth  were  known,  it  has  been  by  a  road  that  they  had 
labored  hard  to  prepare.  It  is  just  the  same  with  fe- 
male prostitution.  The  idea  of  a  female  that  is  vir- 
tuous, at  once  betaking  herself  to  the  streets,  is  pre- 
posterous. This,  therefore,  leads  us  to  consider  the 
way  by  which  females  reach  this  sad  state  of  abase- 
ment. 

Speaking  of  early  vice,  Mr.  Fowler  says,  "  I  would 
not  defame  my  race,  but  facts  extort  the  reluctant  de- 
claration, that  few  have  more  than  the  faintest  concep- 
tion of  the  fearful  extent  to  which  this  vice  (mastur- 
bation) in  all  its  appalling  forms  is  practiced.  It  is  the 
destroyer  of  our  youth  of  both  sexes,  and  still  more  of 
our  husbands  and  wives."  Chatecise,  promiscuously, 
every  boy  you  meet,  and  then  say,  if  nine  out  of  every 


338 

ten,  from  eight  years  old  and  upwards,  do  not  practice  it 
more  or  less  1  and  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that 
nearly  every  one  does  so,  after  they  have  arrived  at  the 
age  of  puberty.  No  child  is  safe  from  this  loathsome 
habit ;  and,  as  I  have  previously  shown,  our  schools  are 
especially  the  nursuriea  of  this  vice. 

Mr.  Woodbridge,  in  the  'Annals  of  Education,' says, 
"  The  fatal  vice  is  spreading  desolation  throughout  our 
schools  and  families,  unnoticed  and  unknown."  Our 
boarding  and  day-schools  are  sources  of  untold  mis- 
chief. 

A  writer  says,  that  "  at  West  Point,  the  mental  de- 
bility occasioned  by  this  vice  was  the  reason  why  so 
many  of  its  students  were  unable  to  pass  examination." 
"  But,'"'  continues  Mr.  Fowler,  "  our  families  at  least  are 
safe.  Exclaims  the  fond  mother,  '  My  daughter's  na- 
tive modesty  is  her  shield  of  protection.'  Would  to 
God  this  were  so  ;  but  facts  wrest  even  this  consolation 
from  us.  They  may  be  less  infected  ;  yet  women,  young 
and  modest,  are  dying  by  thousands,  of  consumption, 
of  female  complaints,  of  nervous  or  spinal  affections,  of 
general  debility,  and  of  other  ostensible  complaints  in- 
numerable, and  some  of  insanity,  caused  by  this  prac- 
tice." 

Mrs.  Gove,  in  her  *  Lectures  to  Ladies  on  Anatomy 
and  Physiology,'  says — "  About  eight  years  since  my 
mind  v/as  awakened  to  examine  this  subject,  by  the  pe- 
rusal of  a  medical  work  that  described  the  effects  of  thia 
vice  when  practiced  by  females.  This  was  the  first  in- 
timation I  had  that  the  vice  existed  among  our  sex. 
Since  that  time  I  have  had  much  evidence  that  it  is 
fearfully  common  among  them.  There  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve, that  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  those  unhappy  fe- 
males who  are  tenants  of  houses  of  ill-fame,  have  been 
victims  of  this  vice  in  the  first  place.  Professed  Chris- 
tians are  among  its  victims." 

Here,  then,  is  the  fountain  from  which  prostitution 
flows.  Need  we  wonder  at  the  number  of  its  votaries, 
or  be  surprised  at  the  unhappy  marriages  of  which  we 
daily  hear,  and  at  the  frightful  mortality  amon^  chil- 
dren in  the  early  months  of  their  existence'?  How  do 
parents  discharge  their  responsibility  in  guarding,  by 
caution  and  advice,  their  children,  from  this  deplorable 


339 

vice  and  its  hideous  consequences  1  In  the  familes  of 
Quakers,  and  in  strict  Catholic  families  where  the 
duties  of  the  confessional  are  attended  to,  the  uses  and 
abuses   of    the   instincts,    passions    and    affections   aro 

fiointed  out  to  children,  and  they  are  taught  to  regu- 
ate  and  control  their  desires  and  appetites.  In  most 
famihcs,  however,  children  are  left  unguarded  against 
the  bad  example  of  their  elder  associates,  and  habits 
are  acquired  and  formed,  in  innocence  and  in  ignorance 
of  many  evil  consequences,  either  moral  or  physical. 

It  would  seem  sufficient  to  inform  children  of  the 
banefid  effects  of  a  vice  which  exhausts  the  body,  de- 
stroys the  eye-sight,  impairs  digestion  and  circulation, 
deranges  the  brain  and  nervous  system  in  an  astonish- 
ingly short  time,  thereby  impairing  the  mind,  destroys 
the  possibility  of  a  healthy  offspring,  and  stamps  the 
face  with  its  marks  and  signs  as  visibly  as  does  the 
small-pox.  Let  parents  and  guardians  exert  themselves 
to  avert  this  wide-spread  and  insidious  contagion,  and 
use  their  influence  to  promote  marriage,  and  our  streets 
will  cease  to  be  filled  by  wanton  harlots  and  licentious 
profligates. 

My  own  practice  is  constantly  presenting  me  with 
the  most  heart. sickening  cases  of  females  who  were  once 
of  the  highest  respectability.  The  last  case  of  this  kind 
was  very  recent. 

CASE   LIV. 

It  was  that  of  a  young  female  .teacher  residing  in  this 
city.  Her  ardent  temperament  was  the  cause  of  her 
commencing  the  practice,  which  led  on  to  the  greater 
vice  of  unchastit3%  but  still  practicing  masturbation  at 
frequent  intervals,  till,  when  she  applied  to  me,  she 
Was  a  mere  wreck,  of  what,  she  said,  she  once  was. 
Her  case  presented  the  symptoms  which  are  portrayed 
in  so  many  of  those  cases,  in  the  previous  pages,  involv- 
ing the  whole  system.  To  effect  a  cure  for  her,  required 
patience  and  perseverance. 

If  the  size  of  this  little  work  would  permit  it,  I  would 
detail  a  number  of  the  female  cases  from  my  note-book, 
as  they  are  there  entered  in  full,  but  as  it  wiU  not,  I 
shall  content  myself  with  presenting  the  case  of  a  young 


340 

lady,  which  it  pains  me  to  say,  was  beyond  the  reach  of 
human  ability  to  restore,  or  even  to  prolong  her  exist" 
euce  for  any  very  great  length  of  time. 


About  a  year  ago,  a  lady  called  at  my  oflBce,  and  after 
inquiring  if  1  was  the  doctor,  and  if  so,  whether  I  was 
alone,  that  she  might  have  an  opportunity  of  privately 
presenting  the  case  of  her  sister  to  me,  for  my  considera- 
tion and  advice.  After  requesting  her  to  be  seated  on 
the  sofa,  and  showing  a  patient  out  by  a  side  door,  I 
heard  her  statement,  which  I  here  copy  in  as  few  words 
as  possible. 

ohe  said,  her  sister  was  about  thirty  years  of  age, 
and  had  been  sick  a  long  time  ;  but  what  the  real  diffi- 
culty was,  her  folks  could  not  find  out,  neither  from  the 
physicians  who  her  father  had  employed,  nor  from  her 
own  statement.  Her  parents  were  in  wealthy  circum- 
stances, and  had  spared  no  pains  or  expense  in  their  en- 
deavors for  her  cure.  As  her  condition  had  grown 
worse,  while  under  the  charge  of  their  regular  family 
physician,  they  called  in  others  for  consultation,  until 
they  had  employed  the  most  eminent  practitioners  of 
the  present  age.  She  had  the  symptoms  of  almost 
every  chronic  disease,  which  they  of  course  endeavored 
to  remove.  The  cause  which  produced  all  this  disorgani- 
sation, however,  they  were  ignorant  of,  and  therefore 
could  not  remove  the  effects. 

After  continuing  in  this  miserable  condition  for  a 
number  of  years,  she  attempted  suicide  by  taking  lauda- 
num, but  her  attendants  made  the  discovery  in  time  to 
frustrate  her  designs,  by  the  physicians  applying  the 
stomach  pump,  and  using  counteracting  remedies.  In 
a  few  days  after  this,  she  disclosed  the  real  cause  of  all 
her  troubles  to  this  sister,  on  condition  that  she  would 
not  reveal  it  to  her  parents.  Three  of  the  most  eminent 
of  her  physicians  were  then  made  acquainted  with  the 
secret,  out  their  success  was  no  better  than  before.  She 
nearly  extinguished  her  feeble  lamp  of  life,  after  she 
found  they  could  not  be  of  any  benefit  to  her,  by  a  se- 
cond over-dose  of  laudanum,  but  which  was  frustrated 
in  the  same  manner  as  before.     Her  nerves  and  mind 


341 


had  been  so  weak  for  a  long  time,  that  they  had  prohib* 
ited  her  entirely  from  reading  newspapers.  One  day, 
by  accident,  she  got  one  in  her  possession,  "which  con- 
tained my  advertisement;  seeing  which,  she  without 
losing  a  moment,  sent  her  sister  to  me. 

If  her  parents  had  only  known  of  her  complaint  Id 
time,  so  that  my  services  could  have  been  engaged 
early  enough  to  have  been  of  some  avail,  they  might 
have  been  saved  the  loss  of  their  daughter,  the  heart- 
rending scenes  and  trials,  and  a  very  large  expense 
Let  no  person,  then,  after  reading  this  little  unpre- 
tending volume,  allow  a  single  day  to  pass,  without 
procuring  for  themselves,  their  children,  or  friends,  that 
professional  advice  which  enables  me  to  save  thou- 
sands from  an  untimely  grave. 

At  the  time  the  sister  applied  to  me  in  her  behalf, 
ghe  was  wasted  to  a  mere  skeleton.  Her  stomach  waa 
60  weak  that  she  could  retain  nothing  but  liquids  in  it. 
The  sight  of  a  physician  would  bring  on  spasms.  She 
could  only  be  restrained  by  force  from  practicing  her 
loathsome  abuse.  Her  mind  was  extremely  idiotic  ; 
fihe  was,  in  fact,  insane. 

This  being  her  situation,  her  case  was  hopeless,  as  she 
could  not  endure  or  sustain  any  treatment  that  could 
be  of  any  permanent  benefit,  though  her  father  offered 
any  fee  for  her  restoration. 

CASE   LVI. 

This  female  patient  and  a  man,  thirty-eight  years 
of  age,  who  came  to  me  in  just  about  the  same 
Btate,  something  over  two  years  ago,  are  the  only  pa- 
tients I  have  ever  had  which  I  could  not  cure ;  and  I 
have  had  many  of  the  most  deplorable  patients  whose 
disease  arose  from  self-abuse,  and  an  innumerable 
number  of  horrible  and"  loathsome  cases  of  syphilis, 
which  had  proceeded  so  far  as  to  cause  the  destruction 
of  the  bones  of  the  limbs  and  face. 

Dr.  Larmon't: 

Dear  Sir,— It  affords  me  no  small  degree  of  pleasure 
to  cheerfully  bear  testimony  to  your  high  private  cha- 
racter and  standing  ;  and  in  a  professional  point  of  view 


I  am  proud  to  acknowledge  your  superior  knowledge 
and  skill  in  the  treatment  of  gonorrhceal,  syphilitic  and 
ppermatorrhoeal  diseases,  as  well  as  the  various  com- 
plaints of  females.  In  fact,  sir,  it  is  due  to  you,  that  I 
should  speak  what  I  kno'v  to  be  true ;  that  you  are  iu 
this  branch  of  the  medical  profession  in  advance  not 
only  of  the  profession,  but  also  in  advance  of  your  worthy 
and  illustrious  preceptors,  the  great  Ricord  of  Paris, 
and  the  great  Acton  of  London. 

1  say  this  not  to  flatter.,  but  because  I  have  frequently 
seen  the  happy  results  of  your  superior  treatment  in  the 
worst,  most  unpromising,  and  cases  cast  off  and  regarded 
as  incurable  by  able  surgeons,  in  this  and  other  cities 
of  the  United  States,  and  in  Europe. 
Yours, 

Moet  respectfully, 

H.  A.  Smith,  M.  D. 

As  I  have  previously  stated,  the  originals  of  the  abovo 
and  other  testimonials,  can  be  seen  at  my  office ;  or, 
those  residing  in  the  city  can  be  seen  personally,  if  re- 
quired. 

Dr.  Larmont  : 

Dear  Sir, — Your  very  extraordinary  success  in 
gonorrhoea  first  led  me  to  cultivate  your  acquaint- 
ance and  friendship.  Nor  do  I  regard  your  present 
disinclination  to  make  your  plan  of  treatment  publicly 
known  to  the  profession  as  ungenerous ;  for  what  you 
have  toiled  to  acquire  is  yours,  unquestionably,  and*  of 
right. 

You  say  in  your  last  letter  that  you  hardly  know 
whether  to  edit  liicord's  great  work  on  Venereal — hero- 
after,  by  adding  copious  notes,  or  give  the  profession  one 
entirely  your  own. 

Now  I  regard  all  or  nearly  all  the  works  since  the 
publication  of  Ricord's  book,  as  copies,  compilations,  or 
Benseless  alterations  of  the  above,  Acton  and  a  few  other 
valuable  works. 

In  fact,  doctor,  we  have  all  of  us  secrets  in  practice, 
which  we  want  to  reap  benefit  from  before  allowing 
others  to  enrich  themselves  by  them  ;  yet  I  am  happy 
to  learn  your  inclination  to  do  the  profession  so  great  a 


:\\'] 


benefit,  and  through  them  suffering  humanity  an  ine«- 
timahle  kindness,  by  by-a»d-by  puhlishing  your  vast 
experience  in  treaiing  diseases  of  the  genito-urhiary 
organs. 

1  must  again  acknoAvledgo  my  indebtedness  for  the 
valuable  hints  on  gonorrhoea  and  its  abortive  treatment, 
which  1  have  found  to  give  perfect  relief  in  a  few  hours. 

I  am  now  about  to  go  to  Dublin  to  remain  a  few 
days,  and  when  I  return  to  liOndon  I  will  again  write. 
Vorv  respectfully, 

J.  Curtis,  F.R.S. 

P.  S. — I  agree  with  you  in  denouncing  unnecessary 
surgical  operations,  and  particularly  the  early  opening 
of  buboes,  which  your  plan  precludes  the  necessity  of 
doing.  J.  C. 

Ur.  IArmont  : 

My  Dear  Doctor, — Yours  of  Feb.  21st  I  received 
by  our  Havre  steamer.  You  seem  to  regard  unfa- 
vorably the  plan  of  cauterization  in  urethral  strictures 
I  too  must  confess  much  disappointment  in  the  indis- 
criminate use  of  caustic,  which  I  was  early  led  into  by 
its  popularity  in  Paris  and  Lyous.  I  think  if  Lallemand 
had  hved,  that  he  would  hove  advanced  very  much  the 
unsuccessful  treatment  of  Spermatorrhoea,  which  he 
brought  out  of  obscurity.  Your  mode  of  cure  seems,  in 
such  cases,  very  novel,  and  peculiarly  your  own.  I  will 
give  it  a  trfal,  as  it  looks  plausible. 

So  far  as  chancre  is  concerned  I  unhesitatingly  say 
you  bear  off  the  palm  of  victory  in  treating  chancres. 
We,  on  the  continent,  cure  as  surely  as  you,  perhaps, 
but  by  no  means  so  soon. 

Some  of  my  brethren  were  skeptical  in  reading  youi 
cases,  but  Dr  Hill  assures  me  you  are  doing  wonders 
Au  Kevoir, 

Virtue  Ami 


344 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

Certificates  given  me  by  the  patients  themselves,  foi 
curing  them  of  Emissions,  Seminal  Weakness,  Impo- 
tency,  and  General  Debility,  after  they  had  been 
under  the  charge  of  a  number  of  Physicians,  and  used 
all  of  the  quack  remedies,  such  as  Cordials,  Elixirs, 
Antidotes,  jJrops,  Compressions,  and  Mechanical  la- 
strnments. 

CASE   LVII. 

,  Conn.,  May  19th,  1852. 

Doctor  Larmont  cured  me  of  Emissions,  and  a  Stric- 
ture of  the  Urethra,  in  a  few  days,  by  local  trQatmeut 
only. 

I  commenced  the  practice  of  masturbation  when  about 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  continued  it  till  within  a  few 
months.  I  am  a  member  of  the  church  of  Christ,  and 
did  not  suppose  I  was  doing  anything  more  than  to  sat- 
isfj%  in  an  innocent  way,  the  promptings  of  an  ardent 
tcm])eramont. 

The  disease  had  become  so  general  as  to  cause  indi- 
gestion, extreme  nervous  debility,  irregularity  of  the 
bowels,  swelling  of  the  testicles,  pain  in  pa.ssing  urine, 
and  a  disagreeably  painful  sensation  of  t^ie  bladder. 
My  mind  was  affected  to  that  extent,  as  to  cause  a  par- 
tial loss  of  memory.  Before  calling  on  you,  I  had  taken 
the  advice  of  a  physician  in  Rochester,  New- York,  and 
two  others  in  Boston,  Mass.,  neither  of  whom  could  tell 
me  what  was  my  real  trouble.  1  forgot  to  say,  my  age 
now  is  twentv-four.  Wm.  Cornell. 

CA.se   LVII  I 

,  Conn.,  Juno  7th,  1852. 

M.  IjARMONT  : 

Dear  Sir, — Yours  of  the  4th  came  duly  to  hand. 
In  repl}'  I  would  say,  I  have  had  no  omissions  since  I 
saw  you.  Yours,  respectfully, 

I  will  only  say,  in  reference  to  this  case,  that  he  is 


345 

about  twenty-six  years  of  age,  and  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  masturbation  very  young.  Previous  to  his 
coming  to  me,  he  had  been  under  the  charge  of  three 
other  physicians  for  a  long  time,  notwithstanding  which 
his  emissions  occurred  every  week.  He  had  attempted 
connection  with  a  female  a  number  of  times,  but  the 
semen  was  ejected  so  soon,  that  he  never  could  accom- 
plish the  act  till  I  had  cured  him  of  the  emissions.  He 
put  himself  under  my  treatment  in  March,  having  in 
compeication,  indigestion,  costiveness,  a  breaking  out  on 
his  face,  and  nervousness. 


U ,  New  York,  June  gOth,  1S52. 

Sir, — I  write  and  let  you  know  about  myself.     I  have 
not  had  any  more  of  the  emissions  since  I  wrote  you  last 

Yours,  M. 

M.  Larjiont,  Esq. 

This  gentleman  came  to  me  in  October,  1851.'  In 
January,  1852  he  wrote  me  he  had  within  that  time  had 
two  emissions  :  his  next  letter  is  the  one  above  given. 
He  was  about  twenty-eight  years  old,  and  had,  previous 
to  coming  to  me,  been  so  affected  generally,  as  to  cause 
indigestion,  costiveness,  great  debility,  affected  memory, 
and  a  hanging  down  of  the  testicles. 


Dr.  Larmont  : 

My  emissions  have  been  stopped  by  you  in  two  or 
three  weeks,  after  having  been  under  the  treatment  of 
others  for  years.     My  health  was  never  better. 
Thankfully  and  confidently  yours, 

J    S D 

New  York,  Jan.  I5th,  1851. 

This  patient  had  been  married  a  little  over  a  year  be- 
fore coming  to  me,  but  was  so  impotent  that  he  had  up 
to  this  time  been  unable  to  cohabit  with  his  wife,  al- 
though his  general  health  was  not  much  affected.  Ho 
was  23  years  old  when  married,  and  wsis  :m1\  i-od  to  it 


346 

by  his  physicians  as  being  the  only  cure  for  him.  Well, 
when  he  could  not  cohabit,  they  advised  him  to  go 
south  a  year  for  his  health,  and  he  did  so  ;  and  when  he 
returned  was  no  better.  He  then  came  to  me,  and  the 
above  certificate  tells  when  he  was  able  to  perform  his 
family  duties.  He  would  be  happy  to  verify  the  above 
to  any  one  that  will  call  upon  him  personally. 

CASE   I.XI. 

Milwaukie,  Wis.,  Aug.  8th,  1850. 
Dr.  Laraiont  : 

Dear  Sir, — Having   arrived  in  Millwaukie  I  with 
pleasure  fulfill  my  promise  of  writing  to  you. 

I  am  hapj^  to  inform  you  I  have  received  great  benefit 
from  your  medicine,  and  am  in  a  much  better  state  of 
health.  1  am,  sir,  most  respectfully, 

Yours,  &c., 

J.  E    D. 

This  young  man  applied  to  me  in  July,  about  four 
months  after  the  above  letter,  he  wrote  me  again,  say- 
ing he  had  had  no  emission,  although  he  had  lost  a  part 
of  his  medicine,,  and  wanted  me  to  send  more,  if  I 
thought  it  necessary.  I  did  not  send  anything,  but 
wrote  him  to  let  me  know  if  all  was  not  right.  I  have 
not  since  heard  from  him.  He  had  been  treated  in 
Europe  before  coming  to  me.     His  age  was  twenty. 

CASE   I.XII. 

O ,  New  York,  June  18th,  1851. 

M.  Larmont  : 

Dear  Sir, — I  feel  it  my  duty  to  inform  you  of  my 
health  since  I  saw  you.     I  have  had  but  one  emission, 
and  that  was  a  few  weeks  after  I  got  homo. 
I  am,  most  respectfully, 

Yours,  Y . 

This  young  man  was  about  the  same  age  as  the  next 
preceding  one,  and  was  much  troubled  with  priapism, 
weakness  of  the  stomach,  deranged  bowels,  and  those 


347 

tell-tale  pimples  on  tlie  face.     I  had  a  letter  from  hin 
List  fall  that  he  was  entirely  well. 

CASE   LXIII. 

L ,  Indiana,  Oct.  6, 1850. 

Dr.  Larmont  : 

Sir, — I  received  yours  in  due  time,  and  commenced 
using  3'our  pills  as  you  prescribed,  just  four  weeks  since, 
and  they  have  had  the  desired  effect,  as  far  as  night 
emissions  are  concerned ;  but  there  is  yet  a  looseness  of 
the  bowels.  Just  befere  getting  them  I  had  a  spell  of 
sickness— bilious  diarehcea ;  but  I  am  now  in  perfect 
health,  and  getting  stronger. 

I  remain  yours,  sincerely,  C . 

This  patient  had  been  afflicted  with  a  chronic  diar- 
rhoea more  or  less  for  a  year ;  he  was  emaciated,  and 
without  a  doubt,  a  rapid  consumption  would  have  soon 
carried  him  out  of  this  world  if  he  had  not  seen  my 
advertisement,  and  applied  to  me  at  the  time  he  did. 
I  had  a  letter  from  him  a  few  months  after  the  above, 
saying,  he  was  married,  and  in  good  health.  His  age 
was  thirty-three. 

CASE   LXIV. 

Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  of  a  long-standing  seminal 
weakness,  and  emissions,  complicated  with  stricture, 
and  that  too  in  a  fortnight,  so  that  I  had  but  one  emis- 
sion after  commencing  his  treatment.  I  had  previously 
been  under  treatment  to  no  benefit. 

C.  J.  C ,  Brooklyn. 

July  1st,  1851. 

This  patient  was  nineteen  years  old,  and  of  a  scrofu- 
lous constitution. 


CASE   LXV. 

Dr.  Larmont: 

You  cured  me  of  gonorrhoea  of  some  time  dura- 
tion, by  a  suigle  local  application,  which  was  compll/ 


348 

cated  with  a  bad  stricture.  By  my  early  improper 
habits  I  was  afflicted  with  emissions  and  great  debility, 
which  were  both  al?o  cured  by  you  in  a  short  time.  1 
had  been  for  a  long  time  under  previous  treatment  to  no 

benefit.  F R . 

Now  York,  Juno  23d,  1S51. 

This  young  man  was  twenty-three  years  old,  and 
belonged  to  Nova  Scotia,  but  came  on  here  for  medical 
advice,  and  has  procured  a  situation  in  one  of  the 
largest  establishments  in  this  city,  where  he  can  be 
seen  by  the  afflicted  at  any  time. 


CASE   LXVI. 

For  over  nine  years,  I  was  troubled  with  seminal 
emissions,  which  caused  a  general  derangement  of  my 
system,  such  as  nervousness,  affected  memory,  costive- 
ness,  depression  of  spirits,  &c.  Within  the  above  time 
I  used  all  the  advertised  remedies  for  these  complaints, 
and  was  under  the  care  of  two  other  doctors,  all  to  no 
benefit,  till  I  came  to  Dr.  Larmont,  who  has  cured  me 
entirely,  having  had  only  one  emission  since  coming 
under  his  charge.  My  health  is  now  as  good  as  it  ever 
was,  yet  it  is  only  two  months  since  I  was  cured. 

A D . 

New  York,  Sept.  23d,  1851. 

The  above  patient  was  troubled  with  a  constant  dis- 
charge of  semen  and  mucus,  arising  from  an  inflamma- 
tion along  the  whole  canal  of  the  penis,  and  particularly 
in  the  region  of  the  seminal  orifices  and  neck  of  the 
bladder.  This  complaint  often  involves  these  parts  and 
the  prostate  gland,  not  only  seriously,  but  so  much  so 
as  to  endanger  life  ;  therefore,  not  only  is  the  correct 
treatment  necessary,  but  it  must  in  many  cases  be 
prompt  and  decisive.  All  those  interested  will  here- 
after be  able  to  understand  the  danger  of  cordials, 
elixirs,  mechanical  instruments,  and  all  quack  reme- 
dies. 


349 

CASE  LXVII. 

New  York,  March  3d,  1851. 
Dr.  Larmon*;  : 

You  have  cured  me  in  a  few  weeks  of  great  debility 
and  nocturnal  emissions  that  I  was  troubled  with  for 
years.  1  have  had  but  one  emission  since  being  under 
your  care.  I  was  under  treatment  a  long  time  before 
calling  on  you,  and  that  without  benefit. 

W H . 

This  man  was  a  journeyman  tobacconist,  and  chewed 
as  many  as  six  papers  of  tobacco  within  the  twenty-four 
hours,  and,  in  addition  to  that,  smoked  a  number  of 
cigars.  I  was  obliged  to  gradually  break  him  of  this 
destructive  habit,  as  his  nervous  system  had  been 
brought  by  this  enormous  use  of  tobacco,  the  weekly 
emissions  at  night,  and  the  escape  of  semen  while  at 
stool — produced  by  the  slightest  straining — to  the  most 
deplorable  condition  imaginable 


CASE   LXVII  J. 

I  hereby  certify  that  Dr.  Larmont,  42  Reade  street, 
has  cured  me  of  three  bad  strictures,  which,  with  the 
gradual  wasting  away  of  the  semen,  and  emissions  at 
night,  caused  impotency  and  very  great  weakness  of 
my  whole  body,  costiveness,  nervousness,  impaired 
memory  and  depressed  spirits — all  of  which  he  has 
cured  me  of  in  a  few  weeks  without  my  having  had  one 
emission,  after  commencing  his  treatment,  which  waa 
without  any  medicine.  P N . 

New  York,  Nov.  25th,  1851. 

The  above  case  was  an  extremely  dangerous  one,  yet, 
it  will  be  seen,  my  treatment  acted  upon  him  almost 
like  a  miracle.  I  often  astonish  myself  at  the  rapid 
cures,  and  especially  when  I  am  not  ebliged  to  use  a 
particle  of  medicine  in  many  of  this  kind  of  cases,  not 
even  to  regulate  the  bowels,  for  they  seem  to  correct 
themselves  immediately. 


350 


case  i.  xix 
Dr.  Larmont: 

You  have  cured  me  in  a  few  weeks  of  an  old  seminal 
weakness  disease  that  other  physicians  had  treated, 
without  benefit,  for  a  long  time.  I  was  very  weak,  and 
had  emissions  very  often,  but  since  your  treatment, 
have  had  only  one.     My  health  is  better  than  it  has 

before  been  for  j'ears.  F G . 

New  York,  March  4th,  1851. 

This  case  waa  nearly  a  type  of  the  preceding  one, 
and,  as  I  have  never  taken  a  certificate  for  a  cure  of 
any  patient  who  had  not  been  treated  by  from  one  to 
twenty  other  physicians,  I  shall  copy  many  of  them 
without  comment,  for  my  professional  duties  are  so 
arduous  that  my  time  will  not  permit  me  to  make  the 
comment  I  otherwise  would  and  should.  My  readers 
will  understand  by  this  that  all  of  the  certificates  I 
publish  are  for  cures  that  had  been  abandoned  by 
others,  or  considered  incurable. 

CASE   LXX. 

Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  of  stricture,  seminal  emissions, 
chancres  (syphilis,)  and  vegetations  (warts)  in  a  short 
time,  without  scarcely  any  medicines.  I  had  been 
under  other  treatment  for  some  time,  to  no  benefit.  1 
was  weak,  and  my  system  entirely  disordered.  I  have 
had  but  one  emission  since  being  under  his  charge.  I 
have  now  been  cured  four  months.        John  M . 

New  York,  October  21st,  1851. 

CASE   LXXI. 

Chicago,  December  19th,  '51. 
Doctor,  : 

Dear  Sir, — Received  yours,  but  not  able  to  write, 
being  under  treatment  of  sore  eyes.  I  think  that  I  am 
pretty  much  freed  from  the  emissions.  It  has  been  four 
months  or  more  since  I  had  a  discharge  or  felt  like  it. 
I  feel  much  better  than  I  did,  and  feel  much  relieved. 
My  flesh  don't  twitch  as  much  as  it  did.  Once  in  a  long 
time  I  still  feel  something  wrong  in  the  pit  of  my  sto- 


351 

maeh,  otherwise  I  think  my  complaint  is  pretty  maeh 
stopped.     I  am  still  careful  about  my  food. 

Yours,  M P 

My  readers  will  discover  that  the  language  of  the 
above  is  quite  erroneous,  but  I  prefer  to  always  give  the 
exact  language  of  the  patients  themselves.  His  age 
was  thirty,  and  his  case  was  a  very  severe  one  ;  he  had 
previously  been  treated,  both  in  this  and  other  coun- 
tries, for  a  number  of  years. 

CASE   LXXII. 

Ohio,  December  16th,  1851. 
M.  Larmont,  M.  D.  : 

Dear  Sir, — So  long  a  time  has  elapsed  since  I  have 
written  to  you,  that  t  presume  you  had  given  up  all 
idea  of  hearing  from  me  again.  I  was  married,  on  the 
day  I  wrote  you  was  set  for  it ;  yes,  married.  This  will 
surprise  you,  when  yo^  reflect  what  I  have  said  ;  but  it 
is,  nevertheless,  true.  I  no  more  expected  to  be  able  to 
perform  Avhat  is  expected  of  every  married  man  than  I 
expected  to  swim  from  New  York  to  Liverpool.  I  did 
not,  as  I  supposed  I  would,  have  an  emission  before  an 
entrance  was  effected,  and  not,  I  think,  until  the  proper 
time  ;  but,  notwithstanding  your  advice  to  have  con- 
nection but  once  a  week,  I  have  had  connection  some 
five  or  six  times,  in  less  than  a  week.  I  have  no  further 
doubt  about  my  case.     A''ery  respectfully, 

H.  D S . 

The  letter  previous  to  this  one,  was  written  some  six 
months  before.  As  will  be  seen  by  his  letter,  he  was  one 
of  those  who  look  on  the  dark  side  of  everything,  and 
could  not  be  convinced  that  he  was  well  till  he  had  been 
married  some  time.  He  had  great  reason  to  doubt,  how- 
ever, for  he  had  been  unmercifully  plucked  by  the  regu- 
lar physicians,  as  well  as  the  innumerable  charlatans 
abounding  in  all  cities,  for  a  number  of  years  before 
coming  to  me.  His  semen  having  wasted  away  for  so 
long  a  time,  left  him  entirely  impotent,  before  my 
treatment.  He  had  all  the  other  symptoms  accompany- 
ing these  extreme  eases. 


852 

CASE   LXXIII. 

C ,  New  York,  Dec.  1850. 

Dear  Sir  : 

I  took  your  advice  .and  did  not  put  off  the  marriage- 
day  as  1  thouglit  I  would  have  to  when  I  saw  you  at 
your  office,  on  my  return  from  Philadelphia.  After  re- 
turning home,  I  applied  myself  to  j'our  directions,  and 
was  more  surprised  at  the  rapidity  of  my  recovery  than 
you  was  sanguine  of  your  ability  to  cure  me.  I  hopo 
you  will  excuse  me,  for  the  fear  I  expressed  that  yon 
might  be  one  of  those  numerous  impostors,  who  assume 
the  name  of  doctor,  and  swindle  those  unfortunate  vic- 
tims who  are  ignorant  of  the  pretenders  and  quacks  in 
your  city,  Philadelphia,  Boston  and  Albany,  who  swin- 
dled me  out  of  a  large  sum  of  money,  besides  leaving 
me  in  a  worse  state  than  when  I  commenced  their  loath- 
some nostrums.  Well,  as  I  said  before,  the  wedding 
day  came  and  passed,  and  instea(^  of  failing  to  cohabit 
as  often  as  you  said  I  might,  I  have  overstepped  the 
bounds  very  materially,  but  will  pay  a  more  strict  ob- 
servance to  your  directions  hereafter.  It  is  now  about 
four  months,  and  I  feel  as  strong  and  well  as  any  man  ; 
my  flesh  is  returning,  so  that  my  weight  is  iuci-eased 
about  thirty  pounds.  You  of  course  received  the  bal- 
ance of  your  fee,  or  you  would  have  written  me  before 
this  time.  Yours,  thankfully, 

R_  G.  M— .. 

This  gentleman  was  about  thirty-five  years  old,  at  the 
time  he  placed  himself  under  my  charge,  and  was  totally 
impotent — the  semen  wasting  away  by  degrees,  bowels 
disordered,  troubled  with  flatulency,  a  gulping  of  wind 
from  the  stomach,  indigestion,  a  buzzing  noise  in  the 
head,  dizziness,  and  a  faint  kind  of  weakness  in  the 
stomach.  In  about  five  months'  time  he  had  recovered 
his  strength,  which  he  possessed  at  the  time  of  his 
writing  to  me. 

I  could  go  on,  and  fill  a  volume  like  this  little  book, 
with  extracts  from  the  letters  of  patients  that  I  have 
never  seen  even,  acknowledging  my  curing  them,  the 
same  as  those  herein  copied.  Enough  of  them,  together 
with  the  certificates  also  copied,  will  satisfy  any  person 


353 

however  long  he  may  have  suffered,  or  the  many  phy- 
sicians aad  remedies  they  may  have  employ«d,  that  my 
treatment  is  not  only  certain,  safe  and  mild,  but  proba- 
bly the  only  sure  mode  of  cure,  at  present  known.  The 
subject  requires  me  to  be  plain  in  my  language,  and 
some  may,  therefore,  consider  me  egotistical,  still  the 
tiuth  nevertheless  requires  it. 

As  a  concluding  part  of  this  work  I  shall  copy  a  few 
of  my  certificates  of  the  unparalleled  cures  performed  by 
me  of  the  other  class  of  private  diseases  known  as  vene- 
real, so  that  those  who  are  unfortunately  afflicted  with 
these  dangerous,  hereditary  and  flesh-destroying  poison- 
ous diseases,  can  have  more  than  the  full  proof  of  what 
1  assert  I  am  doing  daily. 

I  overlooked  two  certificates  of  very  remarkable  cases 
caused  by  masturbation,  and  which  the  gentlemen  who 
received  that  benefit  from  me,  which  saved  their  lives, 
and  the  ruination  of  their  families,  wished  me  to 
publish  with  their^ull  names,  the  better  to  convinco 
the  extremely  skeptical.  I  have  published  them  a  great 
number  of  times  in  the  newspapers,  within  the  last  two 
years. 

CASE   LXXIV. 

New  York,  December  5th,  1849. 
Dr.  LarmoxNT  : 

Dear  Sir, — I  must  say  that  I  consider  you  a  rare 
dispenser  of  health,  for,  after  spending  over  $300, 
(three  hundred  dollars),  with  the  physicians  of  this  city, 
Boston  and  Baltimore,  for  the  cure  of  impotency,  emis- 
sions and  general  debility,  all  the  time  getting  worse 
under  their  treatment,  I  fortunately  saw  your  advertise- 
ment ;  and  this  is  to  certify  that,  after  being  under  your 
care  about  a  month,  I  found  myself  entirely  cured  and 
once  more  a  man.  I  send  this  in  order  to  let  those  af- 
flicted know  where  they  can  get  a  speedy  and  permanent 
eure.  Yours,  truly, 

James  Salisbury,  Mate. 


This  man  had  been  manied  about  five  years,  but  had 
lio  children. 


354 


CASE   LXXV. 

Bbi.oved  Doctor  :  New  York,  Oct.  1st,  1849 

If  I  was  the  possessor  of  a  thousa-nd  gifts,  1  would 
ask  you  to  accept  every  one  of  them,  besides  Che  small 
fee  which  I  paid  you,  its  a  slight  recompeuse  for  your 
invaluable  services  in  curing  mc  of  the  most  deplorable 
effects  of  self-abuse,  commenced  when  I  was  young. 
The  emissions  at  night,  and  leakage  of  the  semen,  cos- 
tiveness,  indigestion,  and,  as  I  said,  all  the  effects  of  the 
masturbation,  you  have  cured  me  of  in  a  few  weeks, 
after  I  had  been  under  half-a-dozen  physicians  for  some 
Bix  j^ars,  besides  using  every  qu^cj.  xiedicine  adver- 
tised, all, of  which  cost  me  hundrt  13  oi  a..Uars,  my  little 
all,  besides  what  I  could  spare,  a^tor  svnporting  my 
family.  The  friend  you  had  cure\.  thai  %ent  mc  to 
you,  1  cannot  thank  enough.    Yours,  °orevei 

case  i.xxti.  ** 
Dr.  Larmont  : 

I  was  under  the  care  of  three  physicians  for  a 
year,  and  used  everything  I  could  hear  of,  such  as 
the  swindling  remedies,  so  impudently  advertised  by 
the  pretended  doctors,  for  the  cure  of  syphiltic  ul- 
cers on  my  body  and  face,  which  were  covered,  and 
very  painful.  I  took  the  disease  by  a  razor  cut,  in  the 
hands  of  a  barber,  affected  with  primary  eyphilis.  My 
whole  system  was  terribly  affected,  and  the  urinary  or- 
gans and  lower  part  of  my  body  pained  me  constantly. 
Instead  of  my  Avater  being  natural,  it  was  like  matter, 
and  followed  by  a  milky  discharge.  After  suffering  so 
long,  and  still  getting  worse,  I  was  sent  to  you,  and 
thank  God,  that  through  him  you  saved  me  from  a  lin- 
gering, disgusting  disease,  and  an  awful  death.  1  am 
happy  to  say,  you  have  cured  me  in  a  few  weeks,  so  that 
I  now  look  and  feel  younger  by  ten  years  than  1  did 
when  affected. 

William  Ferguson,  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J. 
New  York,  Feb.,  27th,  1851. 

This  case  speaks  volumes  in  favor  of  my  Faria  and 
London  treatment  '^  venereal  diseases,  as  there  are  no 


PLATE  26. 


79 


jPtg^i 


357 

remedies  employed  by  any  one  else  in  this  countrj'  or 
Europe,  that  are  so  rapid  in  arresting  and  destroying 
these  poisonous  diseases.  My  remedies  do  not  interfere 
with  the  business  of  any  one.  And  as  a  proof  that  I  do 
not  use  mercury,  this  man  was  in  the  water  nearly 
every  day,  as  he  is  an  oj^sterman.  I  often  have  patients 
that  cannot  get  off  of  their  beds,  from  pains  and  weak- 
ness, up  and  attending  to  their  business  in  less  than  a 
week,  for  instead  of  reducing  them,  I  tell  them  to  eat 
as  much  as  their  appetite  craves.  This  man  has  now 
been  well  about  two  years,  and  his  health  is  as  good  aa 
it  ever  was. 

case  lxxvii. 

Dr.  Larmont  : 

Dear  Sir, — About  one  year  and  a  half  ago,  I  con- 
tracted a  chancre,  (pox),  for  the  cure  of  which  I  applied 
to  a  number  of  physicians  without  receiving  any  benefit. 
After  being  under  their  care  for  this  length  of  time  I 
applied  to  you,  when  I  was  covered-with  ulcers.  After 
being  under  your  charge  for  four  weeks,  I  was  entirely 
restored  to  health,  and  have  never  been  better  in  my 
life  than  since  then.  John  Rollison,  Jr. 

New  York,  May  11th,  1850 

This  certificate  was  given  to  me  by  him,  about  nine 
months  after  the  cure,  on  his  coming  to  me  for  the  cure 
of  a  primary  aflfection,  he  had  caught  a  couple  of  weeks 
previous,  and  which  he  had  had  about  a  week.  In  a  few 
days  he  was  entirely  well  of  this  new  infection.  His 
weight  at  the  time  he  gave  me  this  certificate,  was  forty 
pounds  more,  than  when  I  cured  him  nine  months  before. 


case  lxxviii. 

Dr.  Larmont: 

You  cured  me  of  a  gonorrhoea  of  some  time  stand- 
ing, complicated  with  an  acute  swelled  testicle,  in  a  few 
hours.  I  have  continued  my  work,  and  yet  the  testicle 
has  nearly  resumed  its  natural  size  in  thfs  short  time. 

P.  Broadiiead. 
New  York,  August  20th,  1850. 


sr,8 

The  above  Trill  satisfy  any  one  that  my  vegetable  ap- 
plication not  only  brought  away  his  clap  in  a  few  hours, 
Dut  cured  him  of  the  most  painful  aflection,  swelled 
testicle,  that  ever  accompanies  this  disease. 

Now,  just  compare  this  simple,  but  only  rapidly  effi- 
cacious treatment,  as  yet  known,  with  that  which  is 
followed — almost  universally  followed — by  the  Profes- 
sion. The  first  thing  they  would  do  for  you,  would  be 
to  restrict  your  diet  to  mere  nothing,  make  you  gulp 
down  salts  and  senna,  or  some  other  powerful  laxative  ; 
the  next,  they  would  apply  from  five  to  twenty-five 
leeches  to  the  affected  part,  and  if  there  was  a  general 
fever,  apply  the  lance,  and  rid  you  of  so  much  blood, 
that  it  would  take  you  a  long  time  to  recover  your 
strength.  Well,  after  the  inflammatory  symptoms  had 
subsided,  then  you  would  be  ready  for  that,  to  them, 
heroic  remedy,  the  stomach-revolter,  copaiva,  mixed  up 
with  cubebs,  turpentine,  nitre,  &c.,  &c.  In  the  course 
of  three  or  four  weeks  the  inflammatory  symptoms 
would  probably  be  gone,  and  the  chronic  state  assumed  ; 
then  would  have  to  come  the  injections,  such  as  the  nitrate 
of  silver,  sugar  of  lead,  zinc,  tannin,  alum,  &c.  In  the 
course  of  another  few  weeks  the  discharge  probably 
would  bo  so  much  reduced  as  to  leave  merely  a  little  in 
the  morning,  such  as  a  drop,  or  the  lips  of  the  canal 
glued  together  at  that  time,  and  may  be,  just  before 
passing  urine.  Every  physician  who  knows  anything 
of  these  diseases,  will  now  tell  you,  there  has  a  stricture 
formed  in  the  canal,  which  must  be  cured,  or  it  will  put 
an  end  to  your  existence  in  a  most  distressing  manner 
Suppose  a  person  don't  care  for  all  these  pains, 
dangers,  and  loss  of  time,  he  would  be  placed  in  rather 
a  peculiar  situation  if  he  was  married,  or  the  wedding- 
day  appointed,  surely.  Those  who  have  ever  had  this 
complaint,  and  been  under  their  treatment,  know  this 
to  be  a  correct  statement  of  thousands  of  cases. 

case  lxxix. 
Dr.  Laumont  : 

Dear  Sir, — This  is  to  certify,  that  you  cured  mo  of 
a  gonorrhoea  in  one  day.     I  had  previously  had  the  dis- 
ease for  some  time.  D.  M.  Cokcyn. 
New  York,  June  8th,  1850. 


359 


CASE   LXXX. 


This  is  to  certify,  that  Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  of  a 

fonorrhoea,  chancres,  (syphilis),  and  a  large  intlanacd 
ubo,   without  the  bubo  being    opened.     He  drove  it 
away   entirely  in   a  little  while.      The   gonorrhoea   he 
stopped  in  a  few  hours.    1  had  the  disease  some  time  be- 
fore coming  to  him.  Cassimer  Deroud. 
New  York,  July  20th,  185C. 


CASE  Lxxxr. 


This  is  to  certify,  that  Dr.  Larmont  cured  a  gonorrhoea 
for  me,  by  a  local  application,  after  I  had  been  under 
the  treatment  of  another  doctor  for  some  time,  con- 
tinually getting  worse.  W.  N.  Craft. 

New  York,  March  13th,  1850. 


CASE   LXXXII. 


Dr.  Larmont  stopped  a  gonorrhoea  for  me  at  two 
different  times,  by  one  local  application  at  each  time. 

New  York,  April  8th,  1852. 

CASE  LXXXIII. 

Dr.  Larmont  cuned  me  within  twenty-four  hours,  of  a 

gonorrhoea,  without  pain,  by  a  single  local  application 
[e  done  the  same  about  nine  months  since. 

L.  L 

New  York,  Feb.  18th,  1852. 

CASES  Lxxxiv — V,  VI,  VII,  VIII,  and  ix. 

I  first  came  to  Dr.  Larmont  after  I  had  been  under  a 
number  of  physicians  for  a  weakness  of  the  canal  of  the 
penis,  caused  by  a  gonoiThoea  not  being  cured  soon 
enough,  as  I  had  not  been  properly  cured  for  some 
three  years.  Dr.  Larmont  then  cured  me  in  a  few 
days,  and  has  in  five  other  cases  done  the  same  withia 
twenty-four  hours,  with  one  local  application. 

J.  T.  W . 

New  York,  July  26th,  1851. 


360 

CASK   XC. 

Dr.  Larmont: 

You  cured  inc  of  a  gonorrhoea  with  a  single  appli- 
cation, and  four  doses  of  medicine,  in  twelve  hours.  1 
had  before  had  it  for  six  months,  all  the  time  taking 

medicine.  Wm.  iVJ . 

New  York,  Sept.  6th,  1851. 

CASE    XCI. 

This  is  to  certify,  that  Dr.  Larmont,  of  42  Reade  st  , 
cured  me  in  two  weeks  of  syphilis,  after  I   had  been 

under  the  charge  of  Drs.  H ,  P ,  W ,  R , 

S ,  C ,  and  R ,  for  more  than  a  year,  with- 
out getting  any  better,  notwithstanding  their  giving 
me  mercury,  polassia,  copavia,  &c.  J.  M . 

New  York,   March  25th,  1852. 

Those  afflicted  with  syphilis,  can  judge  of  the  impo- 
sition and  swindling  practiced  upon  the  innocent  though 
ignorant  persons,  by  pretenders,  assuming  the  title  of 
physicians,  the  better  to  palm  off  by  long  advertisements 
in  the  papers,  their  quack  nostrums,  for  this  patient, 
and  many  others  who  nave  given  me  these  different  cer- 
tificates, used  the  two  prominent  ones,  besides  being 
under  a  number  of  family  and  special  practice-doctors. 
It  will  be  seen,  that  all  combined  could  only  rid  him  of 
his  money,  and  not  the  disease. 

CASE  XCII. 

About  two  years  ago,  I  called  on  Dr. ,  alias 

and ,  of  D street,  on  the  appearance  of  a  go- 
norrhoea, who  agreed  to  cure  me  in  a  few  days,  but  in- 
stead of  that,  after  using  injections  and  medicines  for  a 
long  time,  he  ended  it  by  leaving  me  with  a  gleet  and 
stricture,  which  he  kept  on  treating  me  for,  till  I  had 
been  under  him  for  about  eight  months,  and  paid  him 

about  $20.     I  left  him  and  went  to  Dr. F st., 

and  was  under  liis  charge  for  about  three  months,  and 
paid  him  about  $:30.     But,  as  I  was  getting  worse,  I 

left  hira,  and  went  to  Dr. ,  A street,  staid  under 

him  about  six   months,  and  paid  him  about  $50,  and 


361 

while  under  him,  I  got  so  bad  that  I  could  not  pass 

urine  only  in  di-ops,  as or ,  had  not  passed  a 

bougie  into  the  bladder  at  all,  but  only  down  to  the 
stricture,  which  was  all  they  could  do.  One  of  them 
told  me  I  would  forever  remain  impotent. 

When  I  had  an  emission  at  night  no  semen  could 
pass.  I  always  paid  strict  attention  to  all  of  their  di- 
rections, as  I  had  postponed  my  wedding-day  three 
separate  times.  I  then  called  on  Dr.  Larmont,  42 
Reade  St.,  who  soon  passed  a  bougie  into  the  bladder 
without  pain,  and  found  three  permanent  indui-ated 
strictures.  In  two  months  from  the  time  he  commenced 
his  treatment,  I  got  married  ;  my  procreative  organs 
became  natural,  and  my  wife  enciente. 

I  hereby  say,  and  am  willing  to  take  my  oath,  that 
I  fully  believe  no  other  surgeon  or  physician  could  have 
cured  me  but  Dr.  Larmont,  or,  at  any  rate,  without 
cutting  the  urethra  open  for  at  least  five  inches,  the 
Btrictured  portion  of  the  penis  ;  as  I  had  consulted  four 
or  five  other  doctors  who  gave  me  that  opinion. 

J.  H.  A 

New  York,  Dec.  3d,  1851. 

This  gentleman  was  presented,  in  due  course  of  time, 
with  one  of  the  finest  of  boys,  by  his  excellent  lady, 
both  of  whom  are  in  good  health. 

CASE   XCIII. 

Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  without  pain,  of  syphilis,  of 
some  time  standing,  after  I  had  used  mercury  for  ten 
days  previous,  and  all  the  time  getting  worse,  yet  he 
cured  me  in  two  days.  A.  Warino. 

New  York,  Nov.  5th,  1851. 


Doctor  Larmont  cured  mc  in  a  short  time  of  gleet  ani 
strictures,  without  pain,  which  had  existed  for  a  number 
of  months,  notwithstanding  my  having  paid  hundreda 
of  dollars,  for  the  best  medical  services  in  the  country, 
all  to  no  purpos« ;  for  an  affection  or  ulceration  of  mj 


3G2 

kidueys,  which  is  the  most  harassing  of  diseases,  for  it 
cannot  be  reached  only  by  the  action  of  medicines. 

M G . 

New  York,  May  10th,  1852. 

v^Abt:  xcv. 

About  eight  months  ago,  I  came  to  Dr.  Larmont,  with 
a  chancre  and  bubo,  Avhich  1  had  been  treated  for  k)  no 
benefit ;  he  cured  the  chancre  in  a  few  days,  but  the  bubo 
he  had  to  open.  After  he  doctored  me  a  few  weeics  for 
it,  and  as  it  was  not  entirely  well,  and  I  had  not  much 
to  do,  I  went  to  the  hospital,  and  staid  there  two  mouths, 
but  still  they  could  not  cure  me.  I  then  returned  to 
Dr.  Larmont,  who  cured  me  in  a  short  time. 

H.  Chabot. 

New  York,  May  3d,  1852. 

CASE  xcvr. 

A  year  ago.  Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  in  two  days  of 
chancres  (syphilis)  after  I  had  been  under  other  phy- 
sicians for  three  weeks,  but  all  the  time  getting  worse 
He  has  now  done  the  same  again  within  that  short  time, 

notwithstanding  I  called  on  Dr. ,  corner  C st. 

and  Broadway  ;  and  was  under  his  care  for  about  three 
weeks,  and  every  day  getting  worse. 

George  B 

New  York,  April  15th,  1852. 

The  above  is  another  proof  that  quack  remedies  aro 
impositions. 

case  xcvii. 
Dr.  Larmont  : 

I  had  been  affected  with  an  ulcerated  leg,  for  some 
three  years  or  more,  arising  from  an  old  syphilitic  dis- 
ease, in  connection  with  the  abusive  use  of  mercury, 
which  laid  me  on  my  bed  for  a  number  of  weeks,  as  it 
rovered  my  entire  leg  from  the  knee  down  to  the  foot. 
Previous  to  the  leg  being  so  allected,  1  had  ulcers  on  my 
body,  head  and  face,  for  which  I  was  constantly  under 


PLATE  27. 


365 

treatment  by  other  physicians,  to  no  benefit,  as  no  soonei 
than  one  place  was  healed,  another  showed  itself.  In 
less  than  tw®  weeks  after  commencing  your  treatment,  I 
was  able  to  go  out,  and  attend  to  my  business,  and  have 
been  getting  better,  till  I  was  well  in  body  and  mind  ia 

a  few  weeks.  J.  G.  T . 

New  York,  Dec.  9th,  1851. 


CASE  XCVIII. 

I  contracted  a  gonorrhoea  about  six  months  ago,  and 
applied  to  a  number  of  physicians,  besides  using  the 
quack  remedies,  but  still  the  disease  run  into  a  gleet, 
which  Dr.  Larmont  cured  with  one  local  application, 
yet  I,  at  the  same  time,  had  a  stricture,  which  he  also 
cured.  Wm.  K. 

New  York,  April  24th,  l&o2. 


CASE   XCIX. 

For  a  long  time  I  was  under  Dr.  M for  the  cure 

of  gonorrhoea,  and  kept  getting  worse.  When  I  first 
went  to  him  he  said  he  would  cure  me  in  a  few  days,  aa 
the  disease  had  only  just  developed  itself.  I  was  unable 
to  work  for  some  time,  and  when  I  came  to  Dr.  Lar- 
mont the  inflammation  of  the  bladder  was  so  high  as  to 
cause  me  to  pass  water  thirty  times  a  day.  Dr.  Lar- 
mont cured  me  in  a  day,  so  that  I  went  to  work,  and 
am  now  as  well  as  ever.  George  D , 

New  York,  April  Ilth,  1850. 


M.  Larmont,  surgeon,  42  Reade  street.  New  York, 
cured  me  with  one  application,  without  pain,  in  a  few 
hours,  of  an  old  gonorrhoea.  I  had  •  been  under  the 
charge  of  two  other  physicians  previous  to  applying  to 
him,  and  used  every  one  of  the  adrertised  remedies,  yet 
all  the  time  getting  no  bettei:.  A  friend  that  Dr.  L. 
had  cured,  sent  me  to  him.  Georqe  S 

New  York,  January  17th,  1851. 


36G 


Dr.  Larmont  cured  mo  of  an  old  syphilitic  disease, 
without  mercury,  in  a  short  time,  after  I  had  been 
under  other  physicians  without  benefit. 

J.  AUHCENBALT. 

New  York,  November  14th,  1851. 


About  a  year  ago  Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  of  constitu- 
tional syphilis,  complicated  with  scrofula,  without  my 
being  obliged  to  relinquish  my  daily  occupation.  Be- 
fore applying  to  him  1  had  been  under  the  charge  of 

Drs.  L ,  M and  B ,  for  a  long  time,  without 

any  improvement.  I  applied  to  each  in  the  order  here 
named.  It  is  now  a  number  of  years  since  I  contracted 
the  infection.  W.  V.  L . 

New  York,  April  20th,  1852. 


Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  in  a  few  days  of  syphilis,  aftei 
i  had  been  under  three  other  physicians  for  a  long  time, 
besides  Dr.  H ,  and  still  getting  worse.   J.  Burns. 

New  York,  January  20th,  1852. 


For  three  years  I  had  been  afflicted  with  a  gleet, 
three  strictures  so  bad,  that  at  one  time  I  could  not  pass 
urine  for  twelve  hours,  and  chancres,  succeeded  by  con- 
stitutional syphilis.  All  the  time  I  was  under  treat- 
ment in  fhis  and  other  cities,  which  cost  me  hundreds 
of  dollars,  and  great  loss  of  time,  till  I  called  on  Dr. 
Larmont,  who  in  a  few  days  cured  me  of  the  ciiancres. 
and  in  a  few  weeks  of  the  syphilis,  sore  throat,  and 
other  soreness.  My  throat  was  well  in  a  few  days,  and 
the  pains  left  me  after  I  had  taken  but  three  pills.  The 
gonorrhoea  he  brought  away  in  one  day,  by  one  appli- 
cation, and  the  strictures  ho  cured  entirely  in  a  few 
days.  James  M . 

New  York,  May  1st.  1852. 


86Y 


Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  of  a  gonorrhoea  and  stricture, 
of  about  six  months'  standing,  in  a  short  time.  I  had 
been  under  the  charge  of  a  number  of  doctors,  without 
any  benefit.  John  T 

New  York,  January  7th,  1852. 


Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  of  an  old  gonorrhoea  and 

stricture  in  a  short  time,  after  Dr.  M tried  to  no 

purpose  for  three  months.  R S . 

New  York,  October  31st,  1851. 


From  a  badly-treated  gonorrhoea,  the  discharge  con- 
tinued for  a  long  time,  finally  terminating  in  a  gleet 
and  stricture,  with   a  weakness  of  the   canal.     After 

being  under  Drs.  R and  D L.,  as  well  as  a 

number  of  physicians  in  other  cities,  Dr.  Larmont  cured 
me  in  a  short  time  by  local  treatment,  without  using 
but  very  little  medicine  to  strengthen  the  canal.  His 
treatment  was  without  caustic  or  pain.  B 

New  York,  July  14th,  1851. 

Charleston,  S.  C,  is  Mr.  B's  residence. 

CASE    CVIII. 

Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  of  an  old  gonorrhoea  in  a  few 
hours,  by  one  application,  without  pain.  I  had  been 
under  treatment  before  going  to  him.  It  is  now  some 
weeks  since  the  cure.  G S . 

New  York,  December  10th,  1851. 

CASE   CIX. 

Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  of  an  old  gonorrhoea,  with 
one  application,  without  pain,  in  a  few  hours  after  I  had 
doctored  for  some  time,  as  I  had  it  for  over  six  months, 
before  coming  to  him.  R.  W.  W . 

New  York,  Nov.  18th,  1851. 


368 

CASE  ex. 

Tioga  Co.,  Feb.,  1852. 

Dr.    L.VRMOHT  : 

Sir, — The  bubo  is  well. 

Respectfully,  yours, 

H . 

CASE   CXI. 

N ,  Mass.,  Feb.,  ^852 

M.  Larmont  : 

There  is  no  discharge  for  some  time,  and  think  1 
am  well.  Yours,  respectfully, 

F . 

CASE    CXII. 

Canada  West,  Dec,  1852. 
DocTOK, — The  sores  are  all  healed. 

Yours,         C . 

CASE    CXIII. 

Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  of  an  old  gonorrhoea,  with 
one  local  application,  after  I  had  taken  medicines,  &c., 
bo  no  benefit.  R.  Ironsides. 

CASE  cxiv. 

New  York,  April  6th,  1850. 
Dr.  Larmont: 

I  suffered  the  most  any  one  could  with  s^^philis,  for 
over  four  months.  1  ap})lied  to  a  physician  who  said  ho 
would  cure  me  in  a  week,  as  I  had  the  sore  only  a  day  ; 
but,  instead  of  being  cured  in  that  time  of  the  simple 
chancre,  ho  done  me  no  good,  and  the  disease  progrcs=ied 
till  I  had  two  bubos,  one  he  allowed  to  break,  which 
pained  me  awfully,  and  left  five  large  hard  bluo 
places.  After  being  laid  up  four  months,  I  applied  to 
you  from  the  advice  of  friends,  and  in  three  days  I  wa? 
able  to  go  to  work  ;  and  you  cured  me  in  a  few  days 
longer,  so  perfectly,  that  no  trace  of  it  can  be  seen.  All 
who  do  not  wish  to  be  kept  in  bed  by  other  physicians. 


369 

as  I  was,  should  apply  to  you,  and  they  are  certain  ot 

L . 


speedy  cure.  Yours,  most  obediently. 


CASE  cxv. 

Dr.  Larmont  cured  mo  of  constitutional  syphilis,  ul- 
cers all  over  my  body,  and  pains  and  debility,  to  such  an 
extent  as  not  only  to  deprive  me  of  work  for  a  month, 
but  of  sleep,  only  at  short  intervals  of  the  night.  1  was 
all  the  time  from  the  first  appearance  of  it,  first  under 

Dr. ,    L street,   to   no   benefit,   then  to  two 

Thom*psonian  physicians,  then  to   Dr's  F &  C , 

and,  still  getting  worse,  I  then  called  on  Dr.  Larmont, 
in  the  situation  stated  in  the  first  part  of  this  certificate, 
with  the  addition  of  gonori-hoca  and  stricture,  which 
they  all  in  successi(  n  created  without  benefit.  In  one 
week  after  Dr.  Larmont  took  me  in  charge,  I  commenced 
work,  and  increased  in  strength  and  health  rapidly,  till 
I  was  entirely  cured  of  the  whole,  in  two  months'  time. 
J —  H —  D . 

New  York,  July  l.t,  1851. 


This  is  to  certify,  tnat  after  paying  Dr.  H — ,  of  D — 
street,  for  curing  me  of  gonorrhoea  in  its  first  stage, 
which  he  promised  to  do  in  three  or  four  days,  that  ha 
kept  me  taking  the  worst  kind  of  medicines  for  two 
months,  and  still  I  was  getting  worse.  He  refused  to 
return  me  my  money,  after  he  had  tried  everything, 
mercury  included,  as  he  himself  told  me.  I  then  went 
to  another  place,  and  he  still  made  me  worse.  I  then, 
through  the  advice  of  a  friend,  called  on  Dr.  Larmont, 
with  a  bubo  and  tho  worst  kind  of  gonorrhoea,  which 
pained  me  a  good  deal.  Dr.  L.  cured  me  of  the  bubo  in 
a  few  hours,  and  of  the  gonorrhoea  in  a  few  days,  with- 
out pain  or  hiedrance.  C  . 

New  York,  August  16th,  1850. 

CASE  cxni. 
Dr.  Larmont  : 

You  have  cured  me  as  you  said  you  would,  of  syphi- 
Ufl,  caught  about  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  and  for  the  cure 


370 

of  which  I  was  under  other  physicians  a  long  time,  at  a 
very  heavy  expense.  This  you  have  done  without  mer- 
cury, or  even  requiring  me  to  lay  by  from  work  a  single 

day.  N.  E.  M 

New- York,  July  23d,  1850. 

CASE  cxvm. 

This  is  to  certify  that  Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  in  a  few 
hours,  after  I  had  the  gonorrhoea,  since  the  first  of  May 

last,  and  had  been  given  up  by  Doctors  J and  H ; 

the  last  gave  me  drops  for  about  seven  weeks. 

Wm.  B , 

New  York,  July  20tfe,  1850. 


This  is  to  certify  that  you  cured  mo  of  a  gonorrhoea  of 
the  canal  of  the  penis,  and  of  the  anus,  in  a  few  days, 
after  I  had  been  under  the  care  of  another  physician,  for 
over  two  months.  Euoene  C 

New  York,  Sept.  11th,  1850. 

CASE   CXX. 

Last  December  I  contracted  a  gonorrhoea ;  as  soon  as 
I  saw  it,  I  commenced  taking  the  different  advertised 
remedies,  which  I  have  used  up  to  this  time,  or  within  a 
day  or  two,  till  I  came  to  Dr.  Larmont,  by  the  advico 
of  a  friend,  and  who  cured  me  without  pain,  by  using 
one  application.  The  medicine  I  took  previously  had 
only  changed  the  disease  into  the  chronic  or  gleety  state. 

George  M.  S . 

New  York,  April  19,  1851.    ) 

Nine  days  after  being  cured.  ^ 

CASE    CYXT. 

Dr.  Larmont  cured  mo  of  a  gonorrhoea  that  I  had 
taken  medicines  for,  for  over  two  months,  without  benefit, 
by  a  single  application. 


Ne^  York,  April  26th,  1851 


371 

case  cxxii. 

Dk.  Larmont  : 

You  cured  me  3f  a  gonorrhoea  with  ono  application, 
after  I  had  been  under  another  physician  over  two  weeks, 

to  no  benefit.  N.  McM . 

New  York,  Feb.  19th,  1851. 

CASE    CXXIII. 

Six  months  ago,  I  applied  to  Dr.  M and  an- 
other physician  for  the  cure  of  a  gonorrhoea.  They  gave 
me  medicines  and  injections,  till  it  ended  in  gleet,  which 
Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  of,  with  a  single  vegetable  appli- 
cation, so  that  I  was  as  well  a»  I  ever  was,  in  a  few 
hours.                                                       John  W . 

New  York,  Sept.  30th,  1850. 

case  cxxiv 

Dr.  Larmont  : 

You  cured  me  with  one  local  application  in  a  few 

hours,  of  a  gonorrhoea.  J.  V.  F . 

New  York,  Feb.  1st,  1851. 

CASES  cxxv  and  cxxvi. 

Dr.  Larmont: 

You  cured  me  in  a  few  hours  of  gonorrhoea,  by  your 
local  application,  after  J  had  been  under  another  doctor 
for  some  time.  You  also  cured  a  female  in  a  dav  or 
two,  that  had  it.  Welean  Smith. 

New  York,  Dec.  I7th,  1850. 

CASES  cxxvn  and  cxxviii. 

Dr.  Larmont: 

Dear  Sir, — You  cured  me  of  a  gonorrhoea  of  over  a 

year's  standing,  after  another  physician  could  not — by 

your  single  local  application.     In  two  other  cases  you 

did  the  same  by  one  application. 

Jersey  City,  Dec.  27th,  1850. 


372 

CASE   CXXIX. 

N.  H.,  Conn.,  March  29th,  1851. 
Dear  Sir  ; 

About  five  weeks  since  I  called  on  you,  and  got 
some  remedies,  which  cured  the  female  in  one  week,  to 
the  great  joy  and  satisfaction  of  the  person,  who  had 
taken  medicine  for  three  montlis  to  no  purpose. 

W G. 

To  Dr.  Larmont. 

CASE  cxxx. 

Albany,  June  17th,  1851. 
Dear  Sir  : 

The  remedy  you  gave  me  cured  my  complamt. 
Yours,  in  haste, 

S.  R . 

To  Dr.  Larmont. 

CASE  cxxxi. 

Dr.  Larmont: 

Dear  S'r, — I  am  happy  to  say  you  cured  me  of 
gonorrhoea  m  a  day  or  two,  with  one  apjtlication  with- 
out pain,  after  I  had  used  the  advertised  remedies  with- 
out avail.  I  should  here  say,  I  had  a  stricture  for 
three   years,  which  you  also  cured  without  caustic  or 

Eain,  within  two  weeks.     Through  carelessness,  in  rub- 
ing  my  eyes,  I  inoculated  them   with  the  gonorrhoea, 
which  1  am  thankful  to  you  for  curing  in  two  days. 

J.  C. . 

New  York  January  16th,  1850. 


case  cxxxii. 
Dr.  Larmont: 

Dear  Sir, — rAfter  having  been  under  treatment  for 
about  three  weeks  without  being  cured  of  a  gonorrhoea, 
I  called  on  you,  and  am  happy  to  state,  that  you  stopped 
the  discharge  in  five  or  six  hours. 

C.  Laudy. 
New  York,  April  26th,  1850. 


PLATE  28. 


b\g.  Si) 

1^ 


FL(f.  8< 


.» 


0(l 


^O    o^    ""^ 


^\." 


375 

CASE   CXXXIll. 

Last  June  I  was  affected  with  a  venereal  disease,  and 
applied  to  a  ph^-sician  for  its  cure.  After  being  un- 
der his  care  for  about  nine  mouths,  I  became  so  much 
worse,  that  one  testicle  was  three  times  the  usual  size, 
and  very  painful.  I  then  applied  to  Dr.  Larmont, 
42  Reade  St.,  who  entirely  cured  me  in  a  very  short 
time.  N.  F.  E ,  Brooklyn. 

New  York,  May  16th,  1850. 

CASE    CXXXIV. 

This  is  to  certify,  that  I  applied  to  Dr.  H ,  D 

street,  for  the  cure  of  a  delicate  disease  in  its  first  stage 
He  said  he  could  cure  me  in  a  few  days.  I  was  under 
him  for  a  long  time  without  being  cured.     I  then  went 

to  Dr.  J ,  D street,  with  the  same  result.    From 

him  I  went  to  Dr.  M — — ,  W street,  with  no  better 

success.  The  time  I  was  uuder  the  treatment  of  the 
above  persons  was  from  Febraarj'  to  October  of  1849. 

I  then  called  on  Dr.  M ,  F street.  Dr.  R , 

G street,  and  Dr.  B ,  Broadway,  and  they  told 

me  I  could  not  be  cured  without  an  operation  with  the 
knife.  I  then  called  on  Dr.  Larmont,  42  Reade  street, 
who  told  me  he  could  cure  me  with  medicines  and  local 
applications,  without  mercury,  which  he  has  done. 

J.  H.  Deaiarest. 

New  York,  Feb.  23d,  1850. 

My  space  and  time  will  not  allow  me  to  add  but  a 
few  more  names  from  the  many  certificates  not  men- 
tioned in  the  previous  pages,  instead  of  copying  them 
in  full,  for  I  have  already  given  so  many  of  all  the 
diseases  of  a  private  nature,  that  all  must  be  convinced 
of  the  unapproachable  and  unparalleled  cures  ever 
performed  in  this  or  any  other  country.  I  shall  only 
give  this' additional  one  in  detail. 

CASE  cxxxv. 

For  nearly  four  years,  I  had  been  afflicted  with  a  gen- 
eral derangement  of  the  whole  system,  such  as  indigos' 


3T6 

tion,  costiveness,  impaired  memory,  great  sufiFering  and 
depression  of  spirits,  a  threatening  destruction  of  the 
virile  power,  or  with  impotency,  swelling  of  the  testicles, 
seminal  emissions,  and  a  very  frequent  suffering  and  ne- 
cessity of  passing  urine,  both  day  and  night,  causing 
loss  of  sleep,  and  with  a  stricture  of  the  urethra.  Dur- 
ing the  above  time  I  was  under  the  charge,  and  followed 
the  advice  of  a  number  of  physicians,  wearing  trusses, 
bandages,  using  cold  baths,  yet  constantly  getting 
worse,  till  a  friend  sent  me  to  Dr.  Larmont,  42  Reade 
street,  who,  I  am  happy  to  say,  has  cured  me  in  less  than 
a  month,  by  local  treatment  only.  By  the  third  night 
after  his  treatment  commenced,  1  slept  without  getting 
up  to  urinate.  I  have  been  as  well  since  the  cure  as  I 
ever  was.  I  can  recommend  full  reliance  on  his  medical 
and  professional  assurances.  The  bandages  were  all 
immediately  laid  off,  on  coming  to  him.  C.  C.  B. 
New  Yoi^,  June  10th,  1851. 


CASES   CXXXVI    ANB   CXXXVII. 

Mr.  W.  Fink  and  Mr.  D.  Harpen  would  be  pleased 
to  verify  to  any  one,  in  person,  the  truth,  that  Dr.  Lar- 
mont cured  them  by  one  vegetable  application,  in  a  few 
hours,  of  very  bad  gonorrhoea,  which  had  been  under 
treatment  a  long  time  previously. 

I  must  acknowledge  it  is  gratifying  to  receive  such  an 
evidence  of  proof,  as  the  short  extract  below — and  the 
letters  in  the  foregoing  pages — from  brother  members 
of  the  profession.  It  is  the  highest  proof  that  can  be 
rendered. 

Rio  Grande  City,  Texas,  22d  July,  1852. 
Sir: 
I  am  informed  that  j'^ou  have  a  preparation  of  great 
use,  in  the  cure  of  venereal  affections,  particularly  stric- 
ture and  genital  debility.  Large  quantities  can  be  dis- 
posed of,  on  this  frontier.  Our  balsamic  preparations, 
do  not  fill  the  desired  purpose,  of  a  certain  and  s-pcedy 
cure  of  gonorrhaa.  1  am  a  practicing  physician,  a 
graduate  of  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Philadelphia, 
and  would  be  pleased  to  have  the  use  of  such  remedies, 


317 

if  you  are  disposed  to  establish  an  agency  in  this  coun- 
try.    Your  directions  in  relation  to  terms,  use,  tc, 
will  be  in  all  cases  strictly  followed  out. 
Very  respectfully, 

Thos.  p.  Linton,  M.  D. 
Dr.  M    Larmont ,  New  York. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


A.  FFW  WORDS  OF  ADVICE  TO  PATIENTS  AFFECTED  WITH 
WHAT    ARE     GENERALLY     TERMED     "VENEREAL    DIS- 


I  do  not  think  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  present  any 
further  remarks  in  reference  to  my  own  ability  and  su- 
perior manner  of  curing  all  of  these  poisonous  aflfectiona 
— in  an  incredible  (almost)  short  space  of  time — than 
the  unmistakable  proofs  presented  by  the  large  number 
of  certificates — covering  every  private  infection  or  dis- 
ease of  the  genital  organs — acknowledgments  from 
physicians,  and  the  editorial  testimonials  which  will 
complete  the  work.  These  notices  were  published  with- 
out my  knowledge,  as  the  notices  themselves  say,  they 
are  representations  of  some  of  the  most  eminent  physi- 
cians who  are  acquainted  with  my  practice. 

I  wish  to  put  every  afflicted  person  on  their  guard 
against  designing  impostors  and  the  quack  or  advertised 
remedies  which  nearly  fill  a  column  of  some  of  the  city 
papers,  not  only  lauding  their  pretended  virtues,  but 
with  a  baseness  that  is  really  surprising,  assert  that 
they  are  the  only  known  cure  in  the  world.  Such  a 
declaration  alone  should  convince  any  one  that  they 
are  worthless  and  dangerous  compounds,  which  my 
numerous  certificates  so  truthfully  verify.  In  conclu- 
sion, if  any  one,  after  reading  this  work,  still  places 
confidence  in  quack  remedies,  they  can  go  to  any  drug 
store  and  get  them  made  up  for  themselves  at  tha 
trifling  expense,  probably,  of  twenty-five  cents 


378 


A  SAMPLE   OF  THK   INGKEDIENPS,    COMPOSlNa   THE   DIF- 
FEKENT   AUTERTISED    OR   QUACK   REMEDIES. 

Red  Drops. — This  is  a  dangerous  preparation,  con 
eisting  of  corrosive  sublimate,  dissolved  in  alcohol,  and 
colored  with  compound  spirits  of  lavender. 

Unfortunate'' s  Friend. — Make  a  decoction  of  sarsa- 
parilla  root,  rasped  guaicum,  elder  flowers  and  resins, 
of  each  a  quarter  of  a  pound  ;  mazerian  root,  burdocli 
root,  parsley  root,  and  whortleberry  leaves,  of  each  two 
ounces  ;  liquorice  root,  half  a  pound.  Put  them  all  to- 
gether in  one  gallon  of  water,  and  boil  in  a  covered 
vessel  down  to  a  quart,  and  strain  ;  while  the  decoction 
is  warm  add  of  balsam  copaiva,  sweet  spirits  of  nitre,  of 
each  half  a  pound  ;  powdered  gum  Arabic,  white  sugar 
cubebs  and  carbonate  of  soda,  of  each  a  quarter  of  a 
pound.     Dose — a  wine-glass  full  occasionally. 

Every  one  will  see  by  the  above  that  all  quack  reme- 
dies are  composed  of  either  mercury,  copaiva  or  cubebs, 
disguised  by  mixing  them  with  other  remedies.  1  have 
a  hundred  dillerent  prescriptions  which  1  could  give  if 
time  and  space  allowed,  every  one  of  which  contains 
either  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  three  articles,  which 
some  combine  with  injections  and  washes,  composed  of 
mercury,  caustics,  alum,  lead,  zinc,  &c.,  under  the  head 
of  lotions.  As  another  instance  of  the  deception  prac- 
ticed in  this  and  other  cities  in  private  practice,  I  will 
mention  the  fact  of  one  man  having  three  offices,  under 
as  many  different  names. 

With  three  or  four  exceptions,  there  are  no  regularjy 
educated  physicians  in  this  practice,  besides  myself,  in 
the  city,  notwithstanding  the  great  number  of  names  in 
the  papers  assuming  to  be  such. 

Ricord  of  Paris,  Acton  of  London,  and  every  Euro- 

r>ean  surgeon  and  physician  of  standing  who  have  pub- 
ished  w(jrks  on  private  diseases,  say  there  are  five  va- 
rieties of  primary  syphilis,  and  two  when  they  have 
become  constitutional :  and  that  each  kind  requires  a 
different    treatment.      How   persons,   then,   who   havo 


319 

not  had  the  necessary  txperience  in  the  cure  of  these 
diseases,  expect  to  be  able  to  rid  their  patients  of  such 
a  dangerous  aflfection,  every  sensible  unfortunate  had 
better  find  out  before  they  put  themselves  under  their 
care. 

Gonorrhoea,  blcnnorrhagia  or  clap,  is  as  distinct  a  dis- 
ease from  syphilis,  and  requires  as  distinct  treatment  as 
emall-pox  and  cholera.  Syphilis  affects  the  system,  but 
the  clap  is  local  in  its  action,  producing  such  local  com- 
plications as  swelling  of  the  testicles,  phimosis,  para- 
phimosis, inflammation  of  the  bladder,  prostate  gland, 
stricture,  bubo  and  gleet.  The  eyes  may  sometimes  bo 
affected  sympathetically. 

Each  one  of  these  stages  or  complaints  require  dif- 
ferent treatment.  All  the  medicine  in  the  world  cannot 
cure  a  stricture,  or  gleet.  The  same  medicines  that 
might  be  beneficial  in  a  case  of  clap  has  no  effect  on 
a  gleet,  or  the  nose  or  eyes  when  they  have  been  inocu- 
lated with  the  discharge.  The  eyes  have  been  destroj-ed 
in  twenty-four  hours  by  the  rapid  progress  of  the  disease, 
when  direct  inoculation  has  taken  place.  Any  person, 
then,  who  is  acquainted  with  these  diseases,  and  sells 
a  quack  remedy  as  a  cure-all,  do  so  to  get  your  money 
— and  without  the  remotest  idea  that  you  will  be  bene- 
fited by  taking  them. 

I  have  not  given  full  descriptions  of  the  various  forms 
of  i'enereal  diseases  ;  nor  have  I  referred  to  my  treat- 
ment, or  entei-ed  into  the  details  of  the  various  modes 
of  relief.  As  I  have  often  said,  each  case  requires  that 
treatment  which  the  symptoms  and  disease  indicate  ', 
and  medicines  in  the  hands  of  the  ignorant,  irresolute, 
or  timid  patient,  docs  more  harm  than  good.  In  this 
way  only  can  we  hope  to  rescue  the  aflJicted  from 
making  a  degrading  application  to  a  more  degraded 
quack,  or  the  unfeeling  and  dangerous  routine  of  tho 
regular  but  inexperienced  graduate. 


380 


DON^r   FAIL  TO  READ  THIS   ADVICE   TO  THE  AFFLICTED 

The  momcut  you  discover  that  you  have  contractod 
a  private  disease,  or  if  you  have  had  any  affection  of  the 
kind,  at  any  time  previous — even  years  before — and 
which  you  have  supposed  you  were  cured  of,  by  your 
country  or  other  physicians,  apply  to  me  for  this  reason. 
Few  physicians  have  ever  been  taught  anything  about  the 
treatment  of  venereal  diseases.  Even  if  they  had,  it 
was  that  of  the  old  mercurial  or  copavia  remedies,  and 
which  often  causes  more  injury  and  suffering  than  the 
original  disease.  Further — this,  as  well  as  more  en- 
larged works,  too  plainly  show,  that  many  are  pro- 
nounced cured — by  inexperienced  physicians — who  get 
married,  the  disease  is  reproduced  by  the  time  which 
may  have  elapsed,  and  the  extra  excitement  such  an 
event  generally  produces,  and  the  unsuspecting  victim 
finds  that  he  is  yet  affected,  also  the  child,  if  the  wife 
happens  to  be  pregnant.  In  some  cases,  the  child  may 
not  show  any  signs  of  being  affected  for  some  years  after 
it  has  been  born.  Sooner  or  later,  however,  it  will 
show  itself  in  the  whole  circle,  if  the  original  complaint 
was  not  entirely  eradicated.  Or  if  you  have  had  an  emis- 
sion involuntarily.  Sit  down  and  write  mo  a  full  state- 
ment, by  giving  your  age  and  sex — single  or  married  ; 
when  you  had  the  suspicious  connection,  and  when 
you  cohabited  with  your  wife  la^t.  Whether  Silious  or 
nervous  temperament;  complexion,  habits,  and  occu- 
pation. Then  state  the  case,  symptoms,  duration  of 
illness,  and  supposed  cause,  and  whether  your  bowels 
are  regular.  Then  refrain  from  everything  that  ia 
stimulating  ;  keep  the  parts  clean,  and  be  careful  not  to 
inoculate  the  eyes,  nose,  anus,  or  any  other  part,  with 
the  poison. 

I  can  then  send  you  the  necessary  remedies  by  mail 
or  express — stato  which  you  prefer — in  time  to  check, 
and  permanently  cure  you  at  once,  even  if  you  are 
in  the  remotest  part  of  the  Union  or  British  Pro- 
vinces. 

All  my  packages  sent  are  sealed,  so  as  to  be  proof 
B^uinst  detection  ;  and  as  they  are  so  rapid  and  con- 


381 

venient  in  destroying  the  disease,  you  can  cure  yourself, 
even  amongst  the  most  fastidious  friends,  with  perfect 
secrecy. 

Letters  for  advice  or  treatment  must  contain  fiv«j 
dollars,  or  they  cannot  be  noticed,  as  I  am  so  much 
occupied  that  I  cannot  even  read  letters  that  do  not  pay 
me  for  my  time.  Those  who  reside  in  small  or  inquisi- 
tive places,  need  only  write  the  following  on  their 
letters  :  "  Box  &i4.  New  York  Post  Office."  I  shall  get 
them  just  as  safe  as  I  would  if  my  own  name  was  super- 
scribed on  them. 

Patients  who  apply  personally,  should  be  careful  and 
notice  my  office. 


N.  B. — My  office  is  divided  oflf  into  separate  rooms, 
so  that  patients  are  only  seen  by  myself. 


If  I  had  supposed  it  would  have  been  necessary,  or  in- 
teresting to  those  who  may  find  this  unpretending  work 
sufficiently  instructive  to  read  its  entire  contents,  every 
letter  and  illustrative  case  included,  I  would  have  con- 
tinued the  letters  and  cases  to  as  many  more.  Tho 
reader  or  patient  will  please  understand,  however,  that 
I  do  not  preserve  any  letters,,  without  the  patients  or 
my  coiTCSpondents  desire  me  to  publish  them  as  addi- 
tional proofe  of  m}'  superior  practice,  for  the  purpose  of 
convincing  those  who  may  have  given  up  all  hope  of 
ever  finding  a  physician  who  could  cui-e  them.  I  liavo 
letters  almost  daily  from  such  unfortunates  who  havo 
been  under  the  care  of  different  physicians  for  years 
and  years,  all  this  time,  however,  loosing  strength  and 
health.  If  such  persons  could  call  in  person,  I  could 
present  to  them  living  proofs,  as  well  as  the  written 
ones,  of  the  invariable  success  of  my  treatment.  I  will 
therefore  only  say  in  conclusion,  that  I  can  offer  you 
such  treatment,  as  it  appears  caoinot  be  obtained  any- 
where else  in  America. 


382 


TREATMENT   OF   FEMALE   DISEASES. 

But  a  very  few  physicians  correctly  understand  the 
different  complaints,  the  delicate  constitution  of  femalea 
are  subject  to.  The  most  frequent  complaints  to  which 
they  are  liable,  are  the  irregularity  of  the  menses,  and 
prolapsus  uteri,  or  a  falling  of  the  womb,  accompanied 
or  produced  by  fluor  albus,  or  whites.  Either  of  these 
diflBculties  will  cause  consumption,  if  they  are  neglected, 
or  allowed  to  progress,  and  the  proper  treatment  for 
their  cure  not  understood. 

Those  who  wish  to  be  cured  of  fluor  albus,  (whites,) 
or  prolapsus  uteri,  (falling  of  the  womb,)  can  do  so  by 
giving  me  a  full  statement  of  their  case. 

$5.00  consultation  fee  must  be  remitted  when  making 
the  application,  or  the  value  of  my  time  will  prevent  ita 
being  noticed. 


CERTIFICATES. 


From  a  German  Physician. 

New  York,  December  12,  1853. 
Dr.  Larmont. 

Dear  Sir,— I  know  all  about  the  best  treatment  of 
the  diseases  upon  which  your  work  treats,  as  I  resided 
in  France  several  years,  but  still  know  notliing  equal  to 
the  cures  effected  by  you. 

Respectfully, 

DR.  J.  D. 

From  a  Physician  in  Florida. 
I  treated  myself  a  number  of  months  for  the  cure  of  a 
Chronic  Gonorrhoea  without  success,  and  hearing  from 
patient  of  mine  that  Dr.  Larmont  had  cured  him  and 
others  of  his  acquaintances  in  a  very  short  time,  I  re- 
solved— as  I  was  to  be  married  in  three  weeks — not  to 


383 

lose  any  more  time,  but  to  extend  my  visit  as  far  north 
as  New  York,  and  put  myself  under  his  care  at  once. 
Jt  is  with  the  greatest  pleasure  that  I  bear  witness  to 
his  having  cured  me  entirely,  in  forty-eight  hours,  and 
of  course  advise  all  who  are  similarly  situated  to  em 
ploy  him,  to  render  them  the  same  kind  services. 

Dil.  A.  G. 

From  an  old  Physician  in  Virginia. 
It  is  with  heartfelt  gratitude  that  I  state  an  additional 
remarkable  cure  of  Dr.  Larmont,  as  he  cured  me  in 
less  than  two  months  of  Impotency,  with  all  its  compli- 
cated general  derangements,  which  I  had  labored  under 
for  many  years,  notwithstanding  ail  the  treatment 
which  my  position,  as  an  old  physician,  enabled  me  to 
obtain.  It  is  about  a  year  since  the  cure,  and  I  there- 
fore know  it  to  be  permanent,  though  my  age  is  very  far 
advanced. 

DR.  C C. 

I  can  only  add  short  extracts  from  two  or  three  other 
Certificates  of  Cures. 

I  was  treated  by  other  doctors  three  months,  for  tho 
cure  of  a  Clap,  but  Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  in  one  day. 
CASPER  GEISINGER, 

40  Delancy  street. 

I  had  been  under  the  care  of  about  thirty  physicians 
within  twelve  years,  to  be  cured  of  Impotency  and  its 
various  complications,  yet  finally,  I  was  obliged  to  go  to 
Dr.  Larmont,  who  cured  me  in  about  two  months. 

J.  S.  R. 

I  was  totally  Impotent  for  over  8  years,  the  semen  was 
almost  constantly  oozing  from  the  urethra  ;  I  had  been 
under  the  care  of  a  number  of  Professors  in  the  Medical 
Colleges,  and  eminent  physicians  in  this  and  other 
cities,  and  was  given  up  as  having  Consumption,  (hav- 
ing a  cough,)  Heart  disease,  and  almost  every  symptom 


38-1 


of  diseaso  that  the  human  system  is  afifected  with,  but 
Dr.  Larmont  cured  me  entirely  in  about  three  monfeha 
without  cauterization. 

F.  S. 

My  brother  and  myself  have  used  the  humbug  instru- 
ment, which  a  doctor  advertises  will  cure  seminal  dis- 
eases, but  I  grew  worse,  and  he  became  insane  from  the 
seminal  loss.    We  used  them  nearly  two  years. 

G.  A.  Y.,  Connecticut. 

Dr.  Larmont  cured  mo  of  Diurnal  and  Nocturnal 
emissions  in  one  week,  after  I  had  been  given  up  aa 
incurable. 

J.  G. 

I  was  cured  by  Dr.  Larmont,  of  Impotency  and  Diur- 
nal Emissions  in  one  week,  by  local  treatment  only. 
J.  E.  P.,  Vermont. 

Constitutional  Syphilis  caused  my  body  to  be  covered 
with  deep  Ulcers.  I  paid  the  most  eminent  professor, 
physician  and  surgeon  in  this  country  $100,  and  was 
under  his  charge  one  year  to  no  benefit,  as  my  body  was 
the  same  when  I  went  to  Dr.  Larmont,  but  he  cured  me 
in  about  three  months. 

G.  L.,  New  Jersey. 


We  advise  every  person — whether  married  or  single  '- 
to  procure  a  copy  of  the  Medical  Adviser  and  Marriage 
Guide,  illustrated  with  colored  anatomical  plates,  an  i 
numerous  cases.  The  author,  Mr.  Larmont,  Physi 
cian  and  Surgeon,  mails  them  free  to  any  address  on 
the  receipt  of  $1. 


385 


Opinioiv3    ov    the    Press   editorially,  ami   maji2 
EMINENT  Physicians,  in  favor  of   my   superiok 

ABILITY. 

From  the  Rahway  Advocate  and  Register. 
We  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  om*  readers  to  the  ad- 
vertisement of  M.  Larmont,  Surgeon,  of  42  Reade 
street.  New  York.  We  have  seen  the  manusciipt  of 
his  forthcoming  work,  and  are  satisfied  that  a  know- 
ledge of  its  contents  will  be  the  means  of  rescuing 
thousands  of  individuals  from  an  early  grave.  This  is 
also  the  opinion  of  a  number  of  eminent  New  York  phy- 
sicians that  we  have  met,  who  are  acquainted  with  hia 
new  and  superior  mode  of  treating  all  diseases  of  a 
private  nature,  for  it  is  time  that  quackery  should  bo 
suppressed.  Ur.  L's  reputation  for  quick  cures  is  well- 
established,  not  only  in  the  city,  but  in  all  the  States, 
the  West  Indies,  the  British  Possessions,  etc. 

From  the  Essex  {Elizabethtoivn,)  Standard. 
We  are  assured  by  a  friend,  in  whose  judgment  we 
place   great  confidence,  that   the  doctor's  forthcoming 
work  will  be  found  worthy  of  the  attention  of  all  those 
for  whose  benefit  it  is  designed. 

From  the  New  Brunswick  Times 
We  have  known  Dr.  Larmont  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  not  only  coincide  with  the  above,  but  are  well  con- 
vinced that  the  assertions  made  in  his  advertisement  (in 
another  column.)  may  be  relied  on  as  strictly  true. 
Those  interested,  will,  therefore,  be  able  to  shun  th« 
impostors  who  infest  New  York  and  other  cities. 

From  the  National  Police  Gazette^  New  York, 
We  take  pleasure  in  referring  to  the  advertisement  of 
Dr.  Larmont,  in  another  column 

From  the  Rahway  Advocate  and  Register. 
Dr.   Larmont,   of  42  Reade  street,  New  York,  has 
fully  satisfied  us  that  stricture  of  the  urethra  is  one  of 


886 

(Ho  most  dangerous  complaints  that  man  is  afflicted 
with.  The  reason  is,  every  one  is  liable,  for  it  is  not 
caused  by  private  disease  only,  in  more  thac  a  tithe  of 
the  cases  ;  another  and  greater  reason  is,  its  progress 
and  fatal  development  is  so  insidious  that  the  victim  ia 
unconscious  of  danger,  till  he  is  at  the  brink  of  eternity. 

From  the  Rahivay  Advocate  and  Register. 
Diseases  of  a  private  nature,  as  almost  every  person  i? 
avrare,  are  entirely  dififerent  from  those  of  a  genera* 
character ;  that  is,  the  private  one  is  entirely  local  at 
first,  but  if  alloAved  to  remain  uncurcd  for  mure  than  a 
very  few  days  indeed,  is  absorbed  into  the  system,  and 
of  course  becomes  general,  lo  vviJLl  be  seen  by  Ur. 
7.-armoiit's  new  advertisement,  that  he  p-ablishes  some 
i  emarkable  certificates  of  immediate  cvxcs. 

Pi-om  the  Raktcay  Advocate  atid  Ref^ister. 
We  are  satisfied  that  there  are  many  inrocent,  or,  in 
other  words,  diseases  of  the  generative  system,  which 
all  are  liable  to  have  however  moral  a  life  they  may 
lead,  and  we  are  further  satisfied  that  a  physician  like 
Dr.  Larmont,  of  42  Reade  street,  New-Yoik,  who  has 
received  his  education  from  the  highest  sources,  and  who 
has  for  years  dovoted  his  entire  attention  to  their  cure, 
is  fully  ablo  to  treat  thorn  successfully. 

From  the  Essex  {Elizabethtown)  Standard,  N.  J. 

We  fully  agree  with  the  above  editorial  rotice,  and 
oan  say  further,  that  J3r.  La.rjr.or.t'o  advertisement,  in 
s.r.othor  column,  says  no  more  than  he  does  daily. 

From  the  New  Ycyrk  Day  Book. 
An  eminent  physician  of  this  city,  who  has  been  ac- 
quainted with  Dr.  Larmont,  of  42  lleade  street,  for  a 
number  of  years,  assures  us  that  his  treatment  of  those 
diseases,  belonging  to  that  specially  arising  from  indis- 
cretion, &c.,  is  unequaled.  We,  therefore,  fully  indorse 
the  encomiums  of  the  New  Brunswick  Times,  Essex 
Elizabethtown  Standard,  and  Rahway  Advocate  and 
Register,  of  N.  J. 


387 

We  take  pleasure  in  recording  merit,  aud  especially 
so  when  acknowledged  oy  those  of  the  same  profession, 
and  for  that  reason  copy  the  above  in  reference  to  the 
ability  of  Dr.  Larmont,  42  Reade  street. — Notice  from 
the  Sunday  Dispatch. 

From  the  National  Democrat. 

Being  convinced,  from  the  highest  professional  as  well 
as  other  assurances,  the  encomiums  of  the  New  York 
Day  Eook,  Essex  Standard,  New  Brunswick  Times, 
Rahway  Advocate  and  Register,  (of  New  Jersey,)  and 
the  Sunday  Dispatch,  are  only  an  acknowledgment  of 
superior  merit,  we  fully  acquiesce  in  them  in  regard  to 
Dr.  Larmont  of  42  Reade  street,  New  York. 

Editorial  Extract  from  the  New  York  Staatszeitung. 
Dr.  Larmont's  system  of  curing  Venereal  Diseases  is 
the  quickest,  cheapest,  and  surest  of  any  with  which  we 
are  acquainted.  Dr.  Larmont  receives  patients  of  either 
sex  at  his  Office,  42  Reade  street,  corner  Broadway. 
The  latest  cures  that  have  been  effected  by  the  Doctor 
have  established  his  reputation  on  so  firm  a  basis,  that 
his  time  is  fully  occupied  by  the  most  respectable 
patients. 

From  the  New  York  Courier  Des  Etats  Unis,  July  28, 
1853. 
We  suppose  to  do  some  service  to  the  public  in  call- 
ing their  attention  to  the  work  advertised  to-day  in  our 
columns  under  the  title  of  "  Medical  Adviser  and 
Marriage  Guide."  Its  author.  Dr.  Larmont,  is  a  sur- 
geon whose  name  is  already  known  throughout  Europe, 
and  the  work  is  written  with  as  much  conscience  as 
science.  The  Doctor  does  not  think  he  has  done  enough 
yet  to  humanity  with  his  pen,  for  he  can  be  consulted 
every  day  for  all  kinds  of  diseases. 

Editorial  Notice  of  the  Reform  {German  Daily.) 
Dr.  Larmont's  method  of  cureing  all  Venereal  Dis- 
Wises, — as  we  are  assured  by  many  persons  who  hare 


888 

had  the  advantage  of  his  professional  abilities— is  th« 
quickest  and  surest  of  all.  We  beg  to  call  the  attentioa 
of  our  readers  to  his  advertisement  in  another  column 
of  our  paper. 

From  the  Empire  City. 

We  warned  our  readers  against  the  Quack  impostors, 
alias  Doctors,  tvho  post  up  their  decoy  obscenities  on  the 
lamp  posts,  fences,  etc.,  in  violation  of  the  city  ordinan- 
ces ;  and  the  better  to  prevent  the  afflicted  from  falling 
into  their  snares,  advise  them  to  read  Dr.  Larmont's 
advertisement  in  another  column,  and  purchase  his 
valuable  work,  as  we  coincide  fully  with  the  Editorial's 
of  all  the  papers,  referred  to  in  his  work. 

The  Medical  Adviser. — This  book,  as  published  by 
Dr.  Larmont,  purports  to  give  a  synopsis  of  the  causes, 
Byinptoms,  and  most  certain  cure  of  all  those  diseases 
brought  on  by  the  indiscretions  of  youth  and  to  which 
they  are  especially  subjected  in  a  city  like  this.  The 
price  is  only  one  dollar. — National  Police  Gazett?. 

Doctor  Larmont's  Work,  advertised  in  another 
column  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  person  old 
enough  to  read.  We  know  there  are  hundreds  of 
thousands  who  are  bringing  disease  upon  themselves 
without  knowing  it,  as  family  or  general  practitioners 
have  not  the  opportunity  to  investigate  the  cause  of  the 
speciality  of  which  this  work  treats. — National  Police 
Gazette. 

*  *         We  not  only  agree  to  all  of  the  above, 

but  take  pleasure  in  saying  that  Surgeon  Larmont  has 
Bold  thousands  of  his  valuable  work  within  a  few  months, 
in  the  different  sections  of  this  great  country.  He  mails 
his  Medical  Adviser  and  Marriage  Guide,  with  colored 
anatomical  plates,  which  every  person  should  read,  to 
any  address  free  of  postage,  on  the  receipt  of  one  dollar 
Send  for  it— iV.  Y.  Pick. 


Testimonials  from  physicians  of  the  most  emioeat 
ability  can  be  seen,  with  his  Diploma,  at  his  office.  N« 
ODO  now,  after  all  these  evidences,  need  go  astray. 


HIGHLY  IMPORTANT 

TO  THE  MARRIED 

AND  THOSE  CO.NTEMPLATI.XG  MARRIAGE. 

From  the  New  York  Atlas,  of  June  15,  1856. 
Paris    and  London    Medical   Adviser    and    Marriaqk 

Guide.      366  pages.     Twentieth  edition.     12mo.,  cloth. 

Profusely  illustrated  with  nearly  100  beautiful  electrotype 

engravings.      By  M.  Larmoat,    Physician   and   Surgeon, 

New  York. 

Medical  hterature  has  been  greatly  depressed  by  the  fre- 
quent periodical  avalanches  of  medical  books  and  pamphlets, 
which  have  buried  the  truth  in  antediluvian  darkness.  The 
false  teachings  of  these  works  have  misguided  the  public,  de- 
praved the  taste  and  refinement  of  the  young,  and  so  dis- 
torted nature's  laws,  as  to  cause  them  to  be  despised  and  tram- 
pled upon. 

"We  therefore  take  the  more  pleasure,  in  a  brief  notice  of 
the  Medical  Adviser  and  Marriage  Guide,  in  commending  it 
upon  its  real  merits.  It  holds  the  mirror  up  to  nature,  in 
good  earnest,  anatomically  and  physiologically. 

To  the  young  as  well  as  to  the  married,  it  is  replete  with 
interest  and  information. 

The  particular  department  treated  of  is  that  of  the  Genito- 
CTrinary  organs  and  their  diseases,  which  are  ably  treated  by 
the  doctor. 

To  the  married  and  those  who  contemplate  forming  those 
holy  bonds,  the  work  is  of  the  most  inestimable  value.  Price 
$1,  and  four  letter  stamps,  to  pre-pay  postage. 

Surgery. — "We  call  attention  to  the  notice  of  a  work,  on 
our  outside,  by  Dr.  Larmont,  an  experienced  surgeon  of  this 
city.  In  curing  the  diseases  to  which  the  doctor  pays  his 
particular  attention^  he  has  no  superior  in  this  country,  if  he 
has  an  equal. 


390 

The  following  unsolicited  editorial  is  from  the  National  Po- 
lice Gazette  of  January  16,  1857 : 

Medical  Adviser  and  Marriage  Guide  ;  by  M.  Larmont, 
corner  of  Spring  and  Mercer  streets,  New  York  City.  This 
work  is  an  awful  warning  to  those  who  run  the  risk  of  con- 
taminating themselves  by  breaking  the  laws  of  nature  and 
society.  It  presents  the  whole  anatomy  of  man  in  his  rela- 
tions to  his  family  and  offspring,  and,  seriously  considered, 
such  a  work  if  widely  circulated  might  save  the  blood  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  race  from  corruption  and  deterioration. 
Price  one  dollar. 

And  was  copied  by  the  Neiv-  Yorker  Cfriminal-2jeitung  and  Bel- 
letrisiisches  Journal  of  February  4, 1858,  as  an  editorial.  And 
by  the  New  Y<n'k  Staats-Zeitung  of  February  11,  1858,  editor} 
ally. 


PARTICULAE  NOTICE. 

In  consequence  of  recent  complaints  of  patients  who  bar* 
lost  money  letters,  and  other  letters  not  having  been  an- 
swered by  us,  I  found,  on  inquiry,  that  there  is  an  itinerate 
Doctor  traveling  about  the  country,  and  in  this  city,  by  the 
name  of  Larmont ;  therefore  I  wish  all  letters  to  be  directed 
to  my  associate  (who  has  been  with  me  for  several  years), 
Dr.  E.  Banister,  box  844,  P.  0.,  New  York  City,  as  formerly 

M.  LARMONT, 
Pkysician   and  Surgeon. 

N.  B. — Patients  are  respectfully  informed  that  our  offisa 
have  been  removed  from  82  Mercer  Street,  corner  of  Spring;, 
to  647  Broadway,  up  stairs  (La  Farge  House  block),  om 
block  above  the  Metropolitan,  and  three  blocks  above  ih« 
St.  Nicholas  Hotel,  New  York  City. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I. 


PAcn 
Title  Page 1 

Card.  OflSces  and  OflSce  Hours.  Post-Office  Box.  Ad- 
dress ofAuthuDr.    Special  Notice.  Copyright 2 

Plate  displaying  a  Front  View  of  the  Contents  of  the 
Abdomen  and  Pelvis,  and  of  the  Organs  of  Genera- 
tion in  the  Male 3  and  4 

Full  Explanation  of  the  above  Engraving 5 

Preface  to  the  Thirtieth  Edition 6 

Preface  to  former  Editions 7,  8,  9,  10  and  11 

Description  of  Plates 12,  13,  14,  15,  16  and  17 

Coats  of  Arms  of  America,  Great  Britain,   and  France. 

Parti.    Important  Notice  to  Patients 18 

Plate  displaying  a  lull  and  accurate  View  of  the  Left 
Section  of  the  Female  Pelvis  in  Heaitn,   and  of  the 

gans  of  Generation 19  an^  20 

explanation  of  the  above  Engraving 2l 

odactiou,  which  all  should  read 22 


892  CONTENTS 

THE  ANATOMY  OF  THE  GENERATIVE  ORGANS 
OF  THE  MALE  AND  FEMALE. 


PA(iB 

Importance  of  a  HealChy  Conditioa  of  the  Sexual  Or- 
gaus  of  the  Miile  and  Female.  Beainlfiil  Mechan- 
ism of 2S 

Complicated  Structure  of ;  Compared  to  a  Watch  ;  Tes- 
ticles ;  Semen  or  Seed;  Urethra;  Bladder;  Penis..     24 

The     Kidneys.       Anatomy    of    Kidneys.      Location. 

Right  one,  larger  in  the  Sensual 25 

Secretion  of  Salts  by.  Ureters  ;  Bladder  ;  Neck  of 
the  Bladder  ;  Difference  between  Male  and  Female ; 
Action  of  the  Muscles  of 26 

Plate  of  the  Anatomy  of  the  Bladder,  Penis,  «!kc. .  27  and  28 

Secretion  of  Urine,  Crypts,  Action  of  the  Mind  upon 
the  Secretion  of.  Scrotum 29 

Muscles  of  Testicles;  Nourishment  of ;  Destruction  or 
Impairment  of  Serious  ;  Roman  Laws,  in  reference  to  ; 
Action  of  the  Papal  Clergy  in  reference  to  ;  Retention 
of  in  the  Abdomen 30 

Spermatic  Artery,  Spermatic  Cord,  Tunica  Vaginalis, 
Epididymis 31 

Quicksilver  in.  Spermatic  Veins.  Cases  of  Single  and 
Triple  Testicles 32 

Absence  of  at  Birth,  Size  of.  Hydrocele  ;  Rupture  ;  Tun- 
ica   Albuginea ;     Cremaster    Muscles  ;      Vas-Defc- 

lens 33 

Tubuli  Seminiferi  ;  Number,  Length  and  Size  of. 
Location  of  Epididymis.  Vasa-Efferentia.  Prostate 
Gland.  Ejaculatory  Canal 34 


COXTKNTS.  393 

T'AOK. 

Testicles  in  the  Foetus  ;  Their  non-descent  rare;   uou 
comljination  of  Semen  and  Water.    Natural  Quantity 
of  Seminal  Flui-d  in  Sexual  Congress.    Spermatozoa  • 
of  Hybrid  Animals  ;  Incapacity  to  Grencrate 35 

Conception  of  the  Mule,  Goat,  Ewe,  Chamois ;  Cross- 
ing of  Fowls.    General  Rule  regarding  Hybrids. ,, .     36 

Vesicula2  Seminales,  Coats  of,  Ejaculatory  ducts  ;  Pros- 
tate Gland  ;  Caput  Gallinaginis 37 

Seminal  Vesicles  in  the  Boar,  Rat,  Beaver,  and  Guinea 
Pig 3S 

Excitement  of  the  Passions  ;  Paia  5  Ejaculation  of  Se- 
men by  Man  and  Brutes.  Fecundation ;  Seminal 
Reservoirs.  Copulation  of  Animals.  Absence  of 
Seminal  Vesicles  in  the  Lion,  Panther,  Cat,and  Dog.    39 

Size  of  Prostate  Gland  ;  Location  and  Description  ;  col- 
or of  its  Secretion  ;  Fluid  of ;  Prostate  Gland  ab- 
sent in  Bull,  Buck,  Ram,  Goat,  and  the  ruminatia. .     40 

Plate  of  the  Anatomy  of  the  Bladder,  Prostate  Gland, 
Seminal  Vesicles,  &c 41  and    42 

la  fishes.  Prostate  Double  in  the  Elephant,  Camel, 
Horse  ;  Healthy  Secretion  Important.  Appearance 
of  Diseased  Secretion.  Vehicle  for  the  Semen.  Dis- 
ease of  Prostate  mistaken  for  Gonorrhoea  by  Phy- 
Bicians,  Surgeons  and  Professors,  errors  productive 
of  great  injury.    Eunuchs  and  Geldings 43 

Secretion  of  Semen  in  Health.  Semen,  how  Pre- 
vented from  Coagulation.  Cowper's  Glands.  An- 
atomy of  the  Urethra.    Membranous 44 

Membranous,  Pendulous  aud  Bulbous  Portions.  Mus- 
cles to  Expel  the  Semen.  Mucus  Supplying  the 
Urethra .  4b 

Entire  Length  of  Penis.  Penis,  its  Arteries  and  Nerves. 


39-*  CONTENT;: 


'ACE 


Glans  Penis,  Seat  of  Pleasure. 4(5 

Anatomical  Plate  of  Penis  and  Bladder 47  and  48 

Process  by  which  the  Semen  is  Ejected  in  Coition.  Pas- 
sion or  Desire 49 

Corpora  Cavernosa.  Erectors  of  the  Penis.  Great 
Vein  of  the  Penis.  Absorbents  of  Penis.  Puber- 
ty, the  Changes  and  Eflects  it  Produces  in  the  Sys- 
tem. Growth  of  Beards ;  Hair  on  the  Pubes  in 
both  Sexes.  Alteration  of  Voice,  Muscles,  Passions, 
and  Feelings 50 

Increase  of  Size  of  Genital  Organs.  Desire  for  Coition, 
when  Developed,  Affected  by  Mode  of  Living,  Effect 
of  Climate  on  ;  Age  of ;  Periodical  Occurrence  of  De- 
sire for  Copulation  in  Animals  ;  Increase  of  Sexual 
Organs  of  Birds  during  Love  Seasons ;  also  other 
Animals 51 

Beneficent  Designs  of  Instinct  in  Animals.  Meat  of 
Animals  in  Heat ;  Period  of  Heat ;  Spring,  Winter  ; 
Effects  of  in  Sexual  Desire  of  Beasts,  Hot  Climate, 
Effects  on  Sexual  Desire 52 

jaian  Endowed  with  God-like  Reason.  Constant  Size 
of  Human  Testicles.  Secretion  of  Semen  in  relation 
to  Puberty.  Eunuchs  Castrated  before  Puberty. 
How  Affected.  Desire  iu  Old  Age,  and  Condition  of 
Seminal  Secretion.  Small  Sexual  Organs  ;  Effects 
of ;  Instinctive  Desire  in  ]\ran.    Sensations ,')3 

Desires  Excited  by  Sight  and  Touch.  Local  Sensa- 
tions ;  Sexual  Instinct,  the  Cause  of  Attachment  of 
the  Sexes;  Love,  Reason,  Imagination  ;  Moral  Feel- 
ings. FeimU  Generative  Organs.  External  and  Inter- 
nal, Mons  Veneris,  Labia  Externa,  Peri/ieum,  ClUoris, 
Nymphoi,   Vestibule 51 


CONTENTS.  395 

PAQB. 

MecUu9  Urinariiis.  ILjmen  in  Virgins  ;  Garunciilce  Myrti- 
formes  in  Matrons.  Internal  Organs.  Vaijuia,  Uterus, 
Ovaries.  Fallopian  Tubes,  Copulative  Organs,  Vulva  or 
Pudendum,  Description  of. 55 

Comparison  of  Clitoris  with  the  Fenis.  Oritice  of  Fe- 
male Urethra  and  Vagina.  Location  of  Hymen  ;  the 
Vestibulum 56 

Ten  Anatomical  Engravings,  Descriptive  of  the 57 

Female  Generative  Organs •. 58 

Minute  Anatomical  Description  of  the  Female  sys- 
tem of  Generation— Containing  a  Description  of  the 

Impregnated  and  Unimpregnated  Ovum 59 

Most  Remarkable  Cases 60 

7he  Vagina.  Location  of,  Size  of ;  Composed  of  three 
layers  ;  Glands  of  Duvernay  in  the  Female  resemble 
Cowper's  Glands  in  the  Male 61 

The  Uterus  or  Womb.  Peculiarities  of ;  Fallopian  Tubes  ; 
relative  position  to  the^ther  organs 62 

Ligaments  of,  broad  and  round  5  Cervix  Uteri ;  Os 
Tincse,   Cavity  of  the  Uterus 63 

Arbor  Vitae  ;  Mucous  Glands  ;  Dissimilar  tissues  of  the 
Uterus.  Peritoneal  Coat,  Mucous  membrane  ;  Fibrous 
Coat ;  Cruveilhier's  opinion 64 

Microscopic  Observations  of  Roederer  and  Schwelgue. 
Uterine  Arteries  and  Veins 65 

Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  the  Fallopian  Tubes: 
Fmibriated  portion  of  ;  Orifice  of ;  Coats  of 66 

The  Ovaries.     Relative  position  of  ;  Size  of 67 

Graafian  Vesicle,  or  Ovisac.  Position  of  Ovum,  Cor- 
pus luteum 68 

Function  of  the  Ovario — Uterine  System.  Fecunda- 
tion and  Spermatozoa  ;  Passage  of,  into  the   Ova- 


396  COXTKNTS. 

PAGB. 

riiiru.  Process  of  Impregnation.  Aninion  and  Cho- 
rion Membranes,  Liquor  Amnii G9 

After-birth.  Blood  vessels  of  Foetus.  Puberty  com- 
mences from  the  12th  to  the  16th  year 70 

Eflfect  of  Climate  on  ;  In  Africa  it  occurs  at  the  8th 
year,  Persia  9th  year.  Jeweses  menstruate  earlier 
than  other  females.  Cessation  of  Menstruation. 
Changes  in  the  System  at  Puberty  in  both  Sexes 71 

Menstruation  ;  Symptoms  of ;  Its  periodicity  ;  Duration 
of ;  Aristotle  on 72 

Sun,  Moon,  Stars,  or  other  Planets  have  no  Influence 
on.  Sexual  Intercourse.  Sexual  Excitability.  Physical 
Changes  in  Men  and  Animals.     Sensations  of  both 

Sexes  in  Coition  Plxpeuditure  of  Nervous  power  in 
the  Female 73 

Comparative  Effects  of  Coition  in  both  Sexes.  Semen, 
its  Peculiarities  and  Vital  Ealowment 74 

Conception,  the  Period  of  its  (X^jurrence.  Erroneous 
Views  of  Authors  upon  ;  Conditions  necessary  ; 
Adaptability  of  the  Organs  of  Generation  for  ;  Result 
of  the  Union  of  the  Sexes 75 

Proofs  by  experiments  ;  Malformation  of  the  Male  Or- 
gans. Passage  of  the  Ovum  into  the  Womb.  Nou- 
rishment of  the  Foetus 76 

Beautiful  Engravings,  showing  the  different  periods 
of  the  Growth  of  the  Foetus 77  and  78 

Full  Description  of  Flates,  representing  i]iQ periods  of  Foetal- 
gesiaiion 79 

Remarkable  Cures 8Q 

Development  of  the  Foetus.  Time  at  which  the  Impregna 
ted  Female  Germ  enters  the  "Womb  ;  the  Embryo ; 
the  Embryonic  Membranes  and  Fluid  ;  Stages  of  the 


COXTENTS.  391 

I'AGE. 

Development  of  the  Foetus  ;  Formation  of  the  first 
Bones ;  Development  of  the  Head,  Eyes,  Heart, 
Lungs,  Liver,  Testicles,  &c 81 

Foetus ;  Third  Month,  Fourth  Month  Sex  Perceptible, 
Signs  of  Life,  Birth 82 

Sterility,  Causes  and  Cure  ;  Importance  of  Offspring  ; 
Laws  of  Nature  ;  Barrenness  Readily  Cured  ;  Causes 
of  Unfruitful  Marriages  ;  Leucorrhoea,  Fluor  Albus, 
(Whites)  Gleet,  Scrofula 83 

Physical  Adaptation  of  Young  Married  Persons.  Divorce. 
Bonaparte  and  Josephine.  Excessive  Ardor  ;  Conjugal 
Enjoyments  ;  Abortion  ;   Miscarriage 84 

Libertinism  ;  Self-Abuse  or  Masturbation  ;  Powerful 
Medicines ;  Ignorance  of  Physicians  ;  Quack  Nostrums    85 

Articles  supposed  to  possess  fertilizing  virtues.  Most 
Auspicious    Time  for  Conception.    Falling  of    the 

Womb.   How  to  tell  the  Sexes  of  Children  prior  to  birth.     8G 

Prevention  of  Offspring.  Dangers  of  Child-birth.  Grave 
Constitutional  Diseases 87 

Ignorance    and   Delicacy.    Exposition    of    Ignorance. 

Various  Means  used  to  produce  Abortion  or  Miscar- 
riage. Injurious  Effects  from  the  Use  of  Medicines 
for, 88 

Medicines  and  Mechanical  Appliances  to  Prevent  Con- 
ception. Frequent  Calls  for.  The  only  certain, 
harmless.  Convenient  and  Secret  Method  for.  Con- 
doms, Objections  to 89 

Prevention  of  Conception  contrasted   with  Abortion. 

Evils,  Moral  and  Physical,  of  Abortion 

SuflFering  and  Crime;  How  Prevented 

Refusal  of  the  Author  to  cater  to  Wicked  Requests. 
Sympathies  of, .     90 


398  CONTENTS. 

PAQK. 

Nature  Cannot  be  Perverted  with  Impunity ,  .... 

The  Natural  Indulgence  of  the  Sexes  an  Inipe^:a-tive 
Law.  Evils  of  Child-bearing.  Family  Discords, 
Jealousy,  and  Suspicion  of  Infidelity 91 

Causes  of  Illicit  Intercourse,  Rectitude  of  the  Author's 
Motives.  How  to  Avert  an  Early  Grave.  Preven- 
tive to  Conception  ;  how  obtained 92 

Post  Office  Address  of  the  Author.  Important  Truths. 
Nurses,  Children  Sleeping  with  ;  Child-bearing 93 

Fruitful  Months  ;  Twins  ;  Hair  ;  Color  of;  Miscarriages  ; 
Hymen;  Epilipsy  ;  Violation  ;    Hermaphrodites...     94 

Two  Beautiful  Engravings  representing  the  Womb  and 
the  External 95 

Female  Genital  Organs,  with  Description  of  Plate 96 

Bad  Temper.  Effects  of  Pregnancy ;  Signs  of;  Ex- 
cesses       97 

Abstemiousness.    Suckling  ;  Partner  ;  Choice  iu  Mar- 
riage       97 

Sickly  Persons,  Marriage  of.  Diseased  Offspring,  Age  of 
Father,  Offspring  how  Effected  by,  Age  of  Mother, 
Affecting  Offspring,  Marriages  Among  Blood  Rela- 
tions, Degeneracy  of  Royal  Families,  Spanish  Race, 
Scrofula,  Effects  of  in  the  Bourbons,  Families  of  Hol- 
land, Austria,  England,  Queen  Victoria,  How  Afflict- 
ed       98 

Persian  Practice  ;  Marriage  ;  Rules  for ;  Perfect  Fe- 
male ;  Description  of;  Indications  of  Malformation  ; 
"Woman  ;  Gait  of.  Significant 99 

Matrimonial  Rules  Continued.  Age  for  ;  Twins  ;  Part- 
urition     100 

Beautiful  Engraving  of  a  Full  Grown  Foetus  in  the 
Womb 101  and  102 


CON'TKNTS.  399 

PAGE. 

Foetus ;  Formaflon  of.  Nursing  in  Pregnancy  ;  Teeth- 
ing ;  R.'St>rablance  of  Offspring  to  ParentR 103 

Pseudo  Physiologists  ;  Seminal  Vitality  ;  Sexual  Pas- 
sion ;  Effects  of  in  Offspring  ;  Transniissibility  of 
Parental  Qualities ;  Color  ;  Age  ;  Effects  on  Off- 
s^pring  ;  Quackery  and  Quacks ;  Modus  Operandi  of  104 

Cities  Infested  with  ;  Pulses  of  the  Purse  ;  Duties  of  a 
Physician;  Importance  of  Early  Treatment  of  Dis- 
ease ;  Quack  Nostrums 105 

History  of  Dr.    Quackey,  Jr.  ;  Poetry  on lOG  and  107 

History  of  Venereal  Disease  ;  Definition  of  Term ....   107 

Early  History  of;  Jewish  Laws  in  reference  to  ;  Levit- 
icus, chapters  13  and  15  ;  Syphilis  Confounded  with 
Leprosy  by  the  Ancients , 108 

Biblical  History  Regarding  Gonorrhoea  ;  Mosaic  Cere- 
monies ;  Solomon  in  Reference  to  Sexual  Abuses 109 

St.  Paul's  Views  upon  Matrimony  ;  Ubertius  ;  Death 
of ;  Bolonese  Physician  ;  Views  of  ;  Roman  do.  ; 
Bell's  Discovery  ;  Ricord's  Views 110 

Non-Virulent  Affections  ;  Virulent  do.  ;  Parisian  Fe- 
males ;  Peculiarities  of.     Virgins Ill 

Acrid  Mucous  Discharges  ;  Common  Character  of  Mu- 
cous Membranes ;  Non-Virulent  Discharge  iu  the 
Male  ;  Discharges  Peculiar  to  Females ;  Leucorrhoea 
Common 112 

1  etition  of  a  Congressman  ;  False  Alarm  ;  Cleanliness.  113 

Hygienic  Treatment  ;  Case  of  Leucorrhoea  ;  Pregnan- 
cy ;  Barrenness  ;  Absence   of  Menstruation 114 

Ce'ssation  of  the  Function  of;  Acute  a-4d  Chronic 
Suppression  of;  Females  of  Full  Habits  ;  Treatment 
of 115 


400  C0x\TENT3. 

PACK. 

Peculiarities  of  Temperament  of  Womeu  ;  Menstrua- 
tion Reestablisb(!(l  by  Treatment  ;    Remedies 116 

Electricity  a  Powerful  Agent;  Dr.  Ash  well  in  refer- 
ence to  ;  Remedial  Agents  for  ;  Different  Medicines 
used   for 117 

Suspension  of  the  Uterine  Functions  Fatal  ;  Gonorrhoea, 
Blennorrhagia,  or  Clap,  in  the  Male  ;  Derivation  of 
name  ;  Some  Persons  more  liable  to  Contract  it  than 
others  ;  Symptom  of  Clap 118 

Engravings  Representing  Clap  and  Chordee  ;  Engrav- 
ing Representing  Gonorrhoea!  Discharge  Magnified  ; 
Engraving  of  Gonorrhoeal   Opthalmia 119  and  120 

Chordee  ;  Deformity  of  Penis  ;  Chronic  Gonorrhoea  ; 
Gleet ;  Symptoms  of. 121 

Nocturnal  Pollutions  from  ;  Danger  of  other  Diseases 
from  ;   Coition  ;  when  Safe 122 

Indiscriminate  Coition  5  Danger  of  Inoculation  from 
Gleet ;   Chordee,  How  Avoided 123 

Treatment  of;  Retention  of  Urine;  Inflaramaiion  of 
the  Neck  of  the  Bladder  ;  Buboes  from  Sympathetic  124 

Swelled  Testicle  ;  Symptoms  of  ;  Not  Dangerous 125 

Diet  and  Remedies  ;  Gleet 126 

Gonorrhoeal  Rheumatism  and  Sore  Eyes  ;  Gonon-hoeti 
in  the  Female 127 

Effect  of  upon  other  Functions  ;  Treatment 128 

Beautiful  Electrotype  Engraving,  illustrating  Primary 
Syphilis  and  Gonorrhoea  in  the  Female 129  and  130 

Excoriations  of  the  Genitals  in  both  Sexes  ;  Warning 
Against  Excessive  Coition  ;  Strictures  ;  Sir  Astley 
Cooper  on ;  Spasmodic  Stricture  ;  Sir  Benjamin  Bro- 
die  on , 131 

Treatment  of.    lufiammatory  Strictures  ;  Treatment  of  132 


COXIT^NTS.  401 

PAGE 

£xcessivc  Desire  to  Urinate  ia  ;  Primary  Strictures.  . .   133 
Mecbaaical  Obstru-ctioa  of  Uriae  in  ;  Symptoms  of  Stric- 
ture    IM 

Engraving  of  Urethral  Strictures 135  and  136 

Bugbear  ;  Depletion  of  Purse  ;  M.  Ricord 137 

Genius  of   the  Ago  ;  Yankee  Part  of  Christendom  : 

Diseases  of  the  Prostate  Gland  ;  Symptoms 138 

Engraving  of  the  Bladder  and   Enlargement  of    the 

Prostate    Gland  ;  with    Stricture 139  and  140 

Chronic  Inflammation  of  Neck  of  Bladder  ;  Induction 

of  other  Diseases  by  ;    Spirituous  Liquors 141 

Calls  of  Nature  ;  Observance  of;  IiTitation  of  the  Testes  142 
Engraving  of  Swelled  Testicle  ;  with  Explanation  ; 
Engraving  of  Severe  Case  of  Hydrocele  ;  Engraving 
Representing  Vegetations  or  Warts  on  Penis. 143  and  144 
Variocele ;  Hydrocele ;  Diseases  of  Kidneys  and  Ure- 
ters ;  Infiltration  of  Urine  5  Hemorrhoids  5  Irritation 
of  Vagina  and  Womb  ;  Vegetations  or  Warts  ;  Phy- 

mosis  and  Para-Phymosis 145 

Enlargement  of  Epididymis  and  Spermatic  Cord  ;  Sy- 
philis ;  Symptoms  of 146 

Engravings    Representing  Phymosis,   Para-Phymosis ; 
Clap  ;  Chancres  (Pox)  ;  Phymosis  from  Pox  :  Deep- 

Seated  Ulcers  on  the  Scrotum 147  and  148 

General  Remarks  on  Syphilis  ;  Primary  Symptoms 149 

Chancre  ;    Description  of ;  Virus  5     Rabid    Animals  : 

Small  Pox  ;  Diseases  of  Bones  ;  Palate  ;  Nose  ;  Eyes  150 
Eight  Beautiful  Engravings,  Showing   the    Different 
Stages  of  Development  of  Chancres   (Pox). .151  and  152 

Horrid  Ravages  of  Syphilis  ;  Children  Born  with 153 

Gonorrhoea!  Opthalmia ;  Frequency  of  Venereal  Dis- 
eases ;  Transmission  of  Venerial  Virus 154 


402  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Three  Beautiful  Engravings,  Representing  Syphilitic 
Discharge  Magnified  ;  Chancres  in  the  Urethra 
and  Bladder ;  and  Syphilitic  Ulcers  on  Tongue  and 
Throac 155  and  156 

How  to  Prevent  Syphilis  and  Clap  ;  IIow  Contracted  ; 

Secondary,  or  Constitutional  Syphilis  ;  When  it  Be- 
comes so 157 

False  and  Real  Disease  ;  When  Secondary  Syphilis  ; 
When  Manifest ;  Skin  Disease  from 158 

Syphilitic  Affections  of  the  Mucous  Surfaces  ;  Tertiary 
Syphilis 159 

Ulceration  of  Bones  ;  Rheumatic  Pains  in ;  Sore 
Throat ;  Syphilitic  Affections  of  the  Eye ;  Rapid 
Destruction  from ;  Symptoms  of 160 

Three  Engravings,  Representing  the  Destruction  of  the 
Eye  by  Syphilis  5  Constitutional  Syphilitic  Affection 
of  the  Eye,  and  Syphilitic  hydro-sarcocele  of  Testi- 
cle   161  and  162 

Syphilitic  Disease  of  Testicle  ;  Time  of  Occurrence  ; 
Perfect  Curability  of;  Tertiary  Syphilis;  Nodes; 
Periostitis;  Exostosis;  Caries;   Tubercles 163 

Syphilis  in  the  Bones  ;  Three  Varieties  ;  Illustration  of 
Cases 164 

Four  well- executed  Engravings,  Representing  Nodes  on 
the  Frontal  Bone,  Caries  in  the  Teeth  ;  Ulcers  on  ; 
and  Destruction  of  the  Nose  by  Syphilis. .  .165  and  166 

Special  Notice  of  Injuries  Received  by  Patients  from 
Inexperienced  Physicians,  Quacks,  and  their  Reme- 
dies     167 

Part  2d.     Caution  to  Patients 168 

Prefac/)  ;  Character  of  the  Work 16P 


CONTENTS.  403 

PAGE. 

Preface  continued  :  Evil  Results  from  Onacism 170 

latroduction  ;  Harm-oiiy  of  the  Physical  Organism 171 

Appeal  to  the  Public  ;  Bawdy  Books 172 

Self-abucse  by  Girls  ;  Causes  of 173 

A  Few  Words  to  Invalids 17-i 

Two  Engravings,  Representing  Opthalmia  (Diseases  of 
Eyes),  from  involuntary  loss  of  Semen — caused  by 
Self-abuse — and  the  Meagre  Appearance  of  the  Fea- 
tures      ...  .175  and  176 

Onanism  ;   Self-abuse  ;  Masturbation 177 

Ignorance  of  Physicians  on ;  Individual  Cases 178 

Early  History  of  the  Disease  ;  Biblical  Notice  of ;  False 

Modesty 179 

Ancient  Writers  on  ;  Hyppocrates  on  ;  Areteus  on. .  . .  180 
Symptoms  of ;  Galen  ;  Pliny  ;  Cornelius  Gallus  ;  Titus 
Ertherius,  Death  of  in  Copulation ;  Actius  ;   Sane- 

torius  ;  Soninius  ;  Celsus  ;  Tulpius 181 

Blancard  on  Seminal  Diseases  ;    Muys  on  ;  Blindness 

from  ;  Salmuth  on  ;  Hoffman  on 182 

Effects  from  Excessive  Indulgence  ;  Boerhaave  on 183 

De  Senac  on  ;  Ludwig  on  ;  De  Gottier  on  5  Van  Sv/ie- 

ten  on 184 

Klokof  on  Mental  Affection  in  ;    Neither  the    Treat- 
ment nor  the  Diseavse  mentioned  in  Medical  Colleges.  185 
Suicides,  Aflfected  with  ;  Sexual   Organs ;  Influence  of 

Mind  on  ;  Gaming  Table 186 

Sexual  Desires  Late  in  Life  ;  Sexual  Instinct 187 

Sexual  Desires  Absent  in  the  Studious  ;  Sir  Isaac  New- 
ton ;  Intelligent  Physicians 188 

Injuries  of  the  Brain,  causing  Impotency  ;  Baron  Lar- 

rey  on  ;  Lallemand  on  ;•  London  Lancet 189 

Unnatural  and  Excessive  Loss  ot""  Semen 190 


404  CONTENTS. 

Vigor  of  Maubood  ;  Loss  of ;  The  Onanist 191 

Mind  and  General  System  AflFectfed  by  ;  The  Exemplary 

and  Virtuous  Victims  of 192 

Spermatorrhoea  Causing  Disease  of  the  Bladder,  Kid- 
neys, Urethra  and  Rectum  ;  Eunuchs ;  Imperfection 

of  Mind  and  Body  of 193 

Cause  of  Spermatorrhoea 194 

Occurrence  After  Fever  ;  DeWlity  of  Seminal  ducts. . .    195 
Medicines  Causing  the  Disease  ;  Cantharides.  Phosphor- 
us ;  Iron  ;  Opium  ;  Cases  from  my  own  Note  Book  ; 

with  Certificates  of  ray  having  Cured  them 106 

Two  Striking  Engravings,  Representing  Varicocele  of 
the  Testicle  from  Self-pollution  ;  and  Total  Relaxa- 
tion of  both  from 197  and  198 

Headache   from ;  Affection  of  the  Eyes  from  ;    Moral 

Teachings  Inefficacious 199 

Misanthropes  ;  Hermits,  Case  No.  1 ;  Mr.  S.  ;  Cure 200 

Case  No.  2,  Mr.  M.  ;  Cure 201 

Case  3,  Mr.  P.,  New  York  ;  Cure 202 

Case  4,  Remarks,  Lallemand 203 

Dr.  Butini  ;    Dr.  Bailey 204 

Medicines  and  Treatment 205 

Spermatorrhoea  and  Diseases  of  Prostate  Gland 206 

Injections,  Copaiba,  Cubebz,  Nitre,  etc.  Cause  Emis- 
sions     20i 

Case  5,  M.  De  B.— ,  Lallemand 2QB 

Diurnal  Pollutions,  Symptoms 209 

Severe  Constipations. 210 

Baths,  Cauterization 211 

Constipation  from  Horse  Exercise 212 

Impotence  of  the  Scythians • 213 

Injury  from  Mechanical  Appliances  and  Instruments.. .  214 


CONTKNTS.  405 

PAGB 

(jvm'  6,  M.  R.,  a  Modicai  Student,    LallemtuKl 215 

TTre-^ral  Irritation 21G 

Worrfls  Cause  of  Seminal  Losses ;    Injury  from  False 

btrficacy 217 

Applications  from  Fathers  and  Mothers — Sperma- 
torrhoea hereditary;  Case  7,   Lallemand 218 

Cases  8,  9,  10,  and  11 219 

Cases  12,  13,  and  14 220 

Case  15,  R.  H. ;  Dr.  McDou.£?all 221 

Periodical  Returns  of  Seminal  Disease  ;  Insanity 222 

Death  of  a  Hermit 223 

Case  16  ;  Dr.  McDougall;  Have  great  many  like  it 224 

Blennorrhagia,   Orehitis,    Phimosis,    Inflammation    of 

Bladder 225 

Several  other  symptoms  by  which  Spermatorrhoea  may 

be  detected 226 

Warning  by  first  involuntary  emission  ;  Greatest  Causes 

of  Impotency  ;  Ignorance  of  patients 227 

Impotency  ;   Sterility  ;  Infecundity 228 

Fifteen  Engravings,  representing  microscopical  views 
of  Semen,  and  the  Testicle  injected  with  mer- 
cury  229  and  230 

Healthy  semen;  How  long  retained  in  the  body.  Healthy 

animalcules ;    Confidence   iu  Parents 231 

Stricture,  obstacle  to  seminal  discharge  ;  continuance 

of  the  disease 232 

Inability  to  copulate  ;  Female  tantalized  ;  microscop- 
ical researches 233 

Testicle  ;    Change  of  structure ;    Case   17  ;    Fruitless 

marriages 234 

Microscopic  examinations  ;  How  made 235 

Transparency  of  Spermatozoa 236 


400  CONTENTS. 

PAGK. 

Appearance  of  Animalcules 237 

Spermatozoa  in  the  Uretlwa ;  Immense  numbers  of 238 

Absence  of  Animalcules  in  the  Teaticles 239 

Absence  of  in  Consumptives 240 

Spermatozoa  in  the  urine 241 

Ditference  between  Pus  and  Semen 2  i2 

Characteristic  smell 243 

Loss  of  semen  at  stool 244 

The  quantity  of  semen  lost  ;  physical  and  mental  effects  245 

Report  on  to  Massachusetts  Legislature 24G 

Compared  to  the  vice  of  Intemperance  ;  idiocy 247 

Prevalence  of  the  vice 248 

Personal  appearance  of  those  addicted  to   the  vic3  ; 

Treatise  on  the  subject ;  value  of  to  the  Public 249 

Birth  of  Feeble-minded  Children  ;  Servants  teach  Chil- 
dren the  practice 250 

Atrocious  Guilt  ;  Sleeping  Companions  of  Children. . .  251 

Modesty  of  Person  ;  Copland  on  Insanity 252 

Melancholy 253 

Lunatic  Asylum 254 

Evil  Prevented  by  Publicity 255 

Comparative    Frequency    of    Insanity  from,    in    the 

Professions  and  Trades  ;  Sedentary  Life 256 

Engraving,  with  Explanations  of  Stomach  ;  Intoetines, 

etc 257  and  258 

Appearance  of  Masturbators 259 

Case  18,  M.  D 260 

Appearance  of  Urine 261 

Errors  of  the  Medical  Profession 262 

Frequency   of  Micturation  ;    Dr.    Daniel ;     Case  19  ; 

McF 263 

Misconception  of  the  Disease 264 


CONTENTS.  40*1 

PAGB. 

Mental   Hallucination ;    Case   20  ;    M.  Emile  G.,   Dr. 

Cauirere 265 

Indifference  to  External  Impressions 266 

Disordered  Digestion 266 

Cauterization 267 

Marriage  ;  when  advisable  ;  Dr.  Esquirol 268 

Hypochondriasis 269 

Removal  of  Cause 270 

Physician's  Advice  on  Matrimony  in  reference  to  the 

Bride  ;  Causes  of  Abuse,  predisposing 271 

Internal  Causes  of ;  Rutting  Season  in  Animals 272 

The  Ape  ;  Resembltince  to  Man ;  Irritation  of  Brain. . .  272 
External  or  Exciting  Causes  of ;  Case  21 ;  Dr.  Deslandes  273 

Rousseau  ;  Case  22  ;  Son  of  a  Physician 274 

Shirt  of  Mail 275 

Case  23 ;    Parent  Duchatelet 276 

Educational  Eetablishment 277 

Gymnastics 278 

Varieties  of  Abuse 279 

Cases  24,  25,  and  26 280 

Dreams 281 

Effects  of  Absence  of  Sleep 282 

Cases  27  and  28 283 

Cases  29,  30,  and  31 284 

Cases  32  and  33  ;  Treatment ;  Habitual  Priapism 285 

Case  34  ;  English  Officer 286 

Effects  of  Abuses  ;  Case  35;  Female 287 

Straight  Waistcoat 2«8 

Abuses  During  Childhood  ;  Case  36  ;  Deslandes.    Dr. 

Nurambeau 289 

Nervous  Disorders.- 290 

Rapid  Return  to  Health 291 


i08  CONTENTS. 

FAGK. 

Resolution?  of  the  Afflicted 292 

Suitable  Treatment 293 

Effects  of  Temperament ;  Idiosyncrasy 294 

Urethral  discbarges  ;  Case  37 295 

Case  38  ;    Prostatitis  ;  Cystitis ;   Emissions  of  Blood  ; 

Orchitis 296 

Morbid  Phenomena 297 

Embarrassment  of  Females 298 

Erotomania  and  Satyriasis  ;  Dr.  Curling ; 299 

Old  Men  Subjects  of;  Nymphomania .  300 

Plate  representing  Wasted   Testicle,  from  Excess  and 

Abuse,   and    Undescended  Testicle,    causing  Impo- 

tency 301  and  302 

Unmistakable  Signs  of  Erotomania 303 

Fatality  ;  The  Influence  which  different  Articles  have  ; 

Medicines  and  others,  in  producing  and  curing  Sper- 

matorrhcEa  and  Impotence 304 

Purgatives  ;  Injurious  Effects  of 305 

Narcostics  ;  Coffee  ;  Tea  ;  Tobacco  ;  Alcohol 30G 

Nervous  Influences  of;  Drs.  Rush,  Boerhave,   CuUen, 

Darwin  ;  Tissott  on  Tobacco  ;  Case  39  ;  Dr  Pilchor..  307 

Case  40  ;  Dr.  Chapman  ;  Cases  41  and  42  ;  Dyspepsia.  308 
Dr.  Franklin,   and  Hon.  John  Quiucy  Adams  on  use 

of  Tobacco;  Cases  43,  44,  and  45 309 

Hospital  Experience  ;  Cases  4U,  47,  and  48 310 

Opium  ;  Injuries  from  ;  Case  49 311 

Artificial  Habits  ;  Power  of  Habit 312 

Dr.  McDonald  ;  Cantharides  ;  Effects  of 313 

Camphor ;  Case  50  ;  Nitrate  of  Potash 314 

Case  51  ;  Ergot  of  Rye. . .'. 315 

phosphorus  ;    Iron  ;    Mechanical  Means  Adopted  for 

the  Prevention  of  Seminal  Emissions 31# 


CONTENTS.  409 

TAGS. 

Case  52  ;  Strangury  of  the  Urethra 317 

Case  53 — Bladder  complications 318 

Anti-Venereals 319 

Nymphomania  productive  of  Monomania  and  Crime ; 
Masturbation  practiced  by  Females  ;  Remarks  sliow- 

ing  its  dreadful  effects  upon  the  constitution 320 

Case  51,  very  interesting 320 

Letter  from  an  M.D 321 

Onanism  among  Females 322 

Health  and  beauty — how  preserved 323 

Pulmonary  Consumption 324 

Baron  Boyer  ;  Prof.  Richard 325 

Cramp  in  Stomach  ;  Pains  in  Back 326 

Human  nature  always  the  same 327 

Sydenham.    Life,  "What  is  it  ?  It  is  mere  existence  with- 
out health 328 

Achilles.    Biehat 329 

Masturl>ation  produces  effects  upon  the  Female  ;  easily 

discerned  by  the  generality  of  people 330 

Offspring  of  Venereal  Parents 331 

Childhood  and  Youth.    A  Lady's  beauty 332 

Four  engravings  representing  Venereal  taint  in  the  Oflf- 
ppring  ;  Venereal  Eruption  ;    Deep-seated  ulcers  in 
the  neck  and  throat ;  Caries  of  the  Cheek  bone,  333  ana  334 
Maiden  purity  ;  Chastity,   the  daughter  of  modesty. 

Socrates 335 

Causes  of  Female  Prostitution 336 

Wells.    Woodbridge.     Gove.    Fowler 337 

Masturbation  practiced  by  nine  boys  in  tea 338 

Heart-sickening  cases  in  my  own  practice.    Case  54...   339 

Case  55  ;  Attempted  Suicide ,«,...- 340 

Mere  Skeleton,    Case  56 ,,.o«..   ......       ...  311 


410  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Recommendatory  Letters 342 

Interesting  Letter 343 

Certificates  given  me  by  the  Patients  themselves,  for 
curing  them  of  Emissions,  Seminal  weakness,  Impo- 
tency,  and  General  Debility,  after  they  had  been  un- 
der the  charge  of  a  number  of  Physicians,  and  used 
all  of  the  quack  remedies,  such  as  Cordials,  Elixirs, 
Antidotes,  Drops,  Compressions,  and  Mechanical  In- 
struments  344  to  355 

Three  Engravings  representing  Sloughing  Chancre, 
Venereal    Eruptions    after    Suppuration,   Sypliilitic 

Ulcers  in  the  Heart 355  and  356 

Cases,  and  Certificates  of  Cures  from 356  to  363 

Five  beautiful  Engravings  representing  Chancres.  Pus- 
tules on  the  Skin,  G-angreene,  Venereal  Eruption  on 

the  Penis,  with  Buboes 363  and  364 

Certificates  of  Cures  from 364  to  373 

Three  beautiful  Engravings  representing  Syphilitic  Ul- 
cers on  the  Leg,  Primary  Syphilis  from  Inoculation, 

and  Tubercular  Syphilis 373  and  374 

Certificates  of  Cures 375  to  377 

Advice  to  Venereal  Patients 377 

A  Sample  of  the  Ingredients  composing  the  different 

Advertised  or  Quack  Remedies 378 

Means  of  rescuing  the  afflicted 379 

Don't  fail  to  read  this  advice  to  the  afflicted 380 

Address  of  the  Author ;  Post  Office  Box 381 

Unpublished  Letters 381 

Treatment  of  Female  Diseases 382 

Consultation  Fee  ^  Certificates 382 

A  Virginia  Physician 383 

Letters.    A  Patient's  Advice  to  read  the  Medical  Ad- 

viSEK  AND  Makriage  Guide 384 

Opinions  of  the  Press,  Editorially,  and  many  eminent 
Physicians,  in  favor  of  my  superioi"  abilities. . .  384  to  390 


1  15-8  4-4 


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